Elder Fraud in Tennessee

Scammers stole more than $15 million from Tennessee residents in 2025 using bitcoin ATMs, employing tactics such as impersonating court officials and tech support to manipulate victims into depositing funds and sharing access codes. Tennessee banned bitcoin ATMs in response, though cryptocurrency businesses are challenging the ban in federal court; the scams have since shifted to app-based platforms. The FBI reported over 13,400 cryptocurrency kiosk fraud complaints nationally in 2025 with losses exceeding $388 million, with seniors over 50 accounting for more than half of the victims and losses.

The FBI Nashville Field Office is warning older Americans about common financial scams including romance scams, tech-support scams, grandparent scams, and government impersonation schemes that disproportionately target seniors who have accumulated savings. The FBI recommends independently verifying the identity of unexpected callers, avoiding pressure to act quickly, and never sending money, gift cards, or personal information to unverified individuals. Victims or those who suspect fraud should report incidents to IC3.gov and consult trusted family members before responding to suspicious requests.

A Memphis man lost $400,000 in a romance scam involving an AI-generated fake identity named "Eliza" who posed as a cryptocurrency trader on Facebook and video calls, convincing him to invest in a fraudulent crypto scheme that showed fake profits of $800,000. The investigation reveals that foreign scammers operating from compounds in Southeast Asia, particularly Myanmar, are using American-developed AI tools like Google's Gemini and ChatGPT to create convincing personas and conduct multilingual scams, while also relying on Starlink internet service to operate at least 13 newly constructed scam centers. U.S. technology companies' services are enabling these international scammers to target American victims

Cryptocurrency kiosks located in convenience stores and gas stations have become the primary collection point for impersonation scams, with the FBI logging 13,460 complaints in 2025 resulting in approximately $389 million in losses, with roughly two-thirds of victims over age 60. While federal law treats kiosk operators as money services businesses subject to FinCEN registration and anti-money-laundering requirements, state regulation is highly fragmented, ranging from outright bans (Indiana, Tennessee, Minnesota) to licensing regimes with transaction caps and fraud protections to complete absence of oversight (such as in Texas, which leads the nation in reported losses). The regulatory inconsistency means operators face vastly

Minnesota enacted a complete ban on cryptocurrency ATMs effective August 1, 2026, after state officials documented approximately $1 million in scam losses connected to crypto kiosks between 2023 and 2025, with seniors disproportionately targeted through schemes involving manufactured emergencies and pressure to send funds irreversibly. The law required operators to deactivate functioning machines immediately and physically remove them by December 31, 2026, joining Tennessee in adopting an outright ban rather than regulation, as federal data showed Minnesota residents lost over $151 million to crypto-related fraud in 2025 alone.

Two men from Brooklyn, New York pleaded guilty to a $750,000 theft scam targeting a Jackson County, Tennessee resident who was duped by fake Treasury Department calls into liquidating investment certificates and purchasing gold. The victim was told a courier would secure the gold until his identity threat was resolved, but after three successful thefts totaling $750,000, he contacted authorities on a fourth attempt, leading to the suspects' arrest during a controlled operation in October 2024. Both defendants were sentenced to 20 years in prison with no parole eligibility until full restitution of $750,000 is paid to the victim.

Texans lost approximately $57 million to cryptocurrency kiosk scams in 2025, primarily targeting elderly victims who are tricked into depositing cash into crypto ATMs to send funds to scammers' wallets. Texas lawmakers plan to ban crypto kiosks entirely, joining Indiana, Tennessee, and Minnesota in prohibiting the machines, as three states have already enacted or scheduled bans to take effect between March and August 2026. The scam typically involves fraudsters contacting victims with urgent stories about unpaid taxes or compromised accounts, directing them to withdraw cash and convert it to cryptocurrency that cannot be recovered once transferred.

Criminals are impersonating bank employees via phone calls, claiming fraudulent activity was detected and requesting account numbers and online banking credentials to gain access to victims' accounts. Americans lost an estimated $37 billion to telephone and internet fraud in 2025, though experts believe the actual figure is much higher due to underreporting, with only about 4.8% of victims reporting crimes to authorities. Bank officials warn customers to never provide account information over the phone and instead hang up and call their bank directly to verify any fraud alerts.

A 53-year-old man has been extradited from Illinois to Utah to face felony charges for an elaborate romance scam that defrauded an Arizona woman of over $82,500 between August 2024 and July 2025. Todd Joseph Sweet posed as a retired Army sergeant major involved in classified operations and manipulated the victim into providing cash, credit card information, and $27,000 from her retirement funds, while also taking possession of her $65,000 pickup truck that he never returned. Investigators discovered Sweet has a pattern of similar romance scams across multiple states, including a 2010 Tennessee case where he swindled another victim out of $19,000 and

A Memphis-based company called Postland LLC scammed over 100 job seekers from 34 states by recruiting them through Indeed.com for a fake reshipping job that promised high pay but never delivered. Workers were asked to receive packages and reship items like iPhones and jewelry from home, and the scammers requested personal financial information like credit card limits before disappearing without paying them. To protect yourself, be wary of job offers that don't match your resume, require upfront financial information, involve reshipping packages, or come from recruiters with suspicious accents and inconsistent details about their location.

A Nashville banker named Karl Stephen Richardson was arrested for stealing over $139,000 from two elderly customers at Bank of America through various methods including counter withdrawals, ATM transactions, and digital transfers like Zelle. The 75-year-old and 86-year-old victims were exploited over several months, with Richardson processing unauthorized transactions and sometimes giving them far less cash than the amounts withdrawn. Elderly customers should closely monitor their bank accounts, verify all withdrawals with their bank, and consider designating a trusted family member to help oversee their finances to prevent similar exploitation.

Louisiana residents lost an estimated $15.6 million to romance and confidence scams between 2023 and 2025, ranking the state 10th highest in per capita losses nationally at $0.94 per person. The data shows a concerning surge in 2025, with losses jumping 76% to $6.9 million after a temporary decline in 2024, suggesting scammers are intensifying their targeting of the state. To protect yourself, be cautious of online romantic relationships that develop quickly, never send money to people you haven't met in person, and verify identities independently before sharing personal or financial information.

# Summary The Trump administration claims the SNAP food assistance program has a 10.6% payment error rate costing over $10 billion annually, characterizing it as fraud and waste. However, anti-hunger advocates argue this conflates unintentional payment errors—often resulting from complex eligibility rules, job changes, or paperwork issues—with actual fraud, which involves deliberate deception like benefit trafficking; actual SNAP fraud costs approximately $1 billion per year according to the Government Accountability Office.

San Antonio residents lost approximately $39 million to scams between January 2024 and April 2026, primarily targeting older adults through fake law enforcement calls demanding Bitcoin ATM deposits. The city has passed an ordinance requiring bilingual warning signs at all 660 crypto kiosks, effective July 1, to alert users about common scam tactics and encourage them to call 911 if pressured to send money. Residents should be aware that legitimate government agencies will never demand immediate payment via cryptocurrency, and they should hang up and independently verify any urgent payment requests before using ATMs.

A former Bank of America employee in Nashville was arrested after stealing nearly $140,000 from two elderly customers during a four-month scheme involving fraudulent withdrawals and unauthorized transactions. Karl Stephen Richardson processed dozens of counter withdrawals and ATM transactions from the victims' accounts, often giving them little to no cash in return, affecting a 75-year-old and an 86-year-old woman. Police and banking experts recommend that families and caregivers closely monitor the financial accounts of elderly relatives, especially those who need assistance with banking, to catch unauthorized activity early.