Sterling Heights — The City Council on Jan. 6 approved an ordinance amending Chapter 29 of the city code to add licensing and operational regulations for virtual-currency machines and associated devices, a measure council members said is intended to curb scams and protect vulnerable residents.

Councilmembers discussed the proposal after testimony from Lev Wood and Sierra Donovan of Grosse Pointe Farms, who outlined a timeline of local fraud reports that prompted their city to adopt similar rules. "One of our residents fell victim to a scam," Wood said, describing a caller who urged a resident to deposit money into a Bitcoin machine and later could not recover the funds. He told the council a separate case cost a resident "$17,500 in all." Wood said those incidents and state-level attention led his city to pursue local regulation and urged Sterling Heights to follow suit.

AARP representatives who testified supported the changes. Cassie Fearfald, manager of advocacy for AARP Michigan, thanked council members for revisions that add daily and monthly transaction limits and said the changes would "provide so much more protection to the residents of Sterling Heights by adding those daily and monthly transaction limits." Volunteer AARP advocate Dennis Brozis told the council that seniors are often targeted by rapid, high-pressure scams that direct them to specific machines.

Councilmember Brad Radke, who moved the ordinance, described the revisions as "very good" and said the changes were a reasonable step after more than $400,000 in fraud tied to virtual-currency machines was discussed during preparation of the ordinance. City Manager Mark Vanderpool said letters to legislators would be sent following approval.

The ordinance directs licensing and operational standards for machines and establishes transaction limits intended to reduce the risk that a single act of fraud could drain a resident’s savings. The ordinance text and chapter references were discussed in council packet materials; the meeting record did not give an ordinance number. No formal amendments were recorded during final passage, and council voted in favor of adoption during the public meeting.

The council thanked representatives from Grosse Pointe Farms for sharing their experience and AARP for its input. The city manager said staff will send notification letters to state legislators following the ordinance's approval.

What happens next: The ordinance as adopted will be enforced by city staff per Chapter 29 procedures; the transcript did not specify effective dates or enforcement timelines.