Apple faces lawsuit over alleged Bitcoin scam

The ailment was filed successful the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. It accuses Apple of failing to adequately reappraisal and show apps distributed done its platform.

Apple precocious overtook Nvidia to go the world's largest nationalist institution by marketplace capitalization. Its valuation stood astatine astir $4.989 trillion astatine the clip of writing. 

Related: Cheaper Amazon unreality rival files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

The plaintiffs said they trusted the fake app due to the fact that Apple markets the App Store as: 

"A harmless and trusted spot to observe and download apps."

The app impersonated Sparrow Wallet, a Bitcoin wallet disposable connected Windows, macOS and Linux. Sparrow does not connection an iOS app.

Users were allegedly asked to participate their 12- oregon 24-word betterment phrases. A betterment operation acts arsenic the maestro cardinal to a crypto wallet. Anyone who obtains it tin power the assets inside.

The suit alleges the fake app sent those phrases to the scammers. The attackers past transferred the victims' Bitcoin to wallets they controlled.

James Ramirez, Christopher Ellis and Jalen Delgado allegedly mislaid astir $875,000, $840,000 and $120,000, respectively. The thefts occurred betwixt May and August 2025.

Apple says it removed the apps

The suit alleges Apple violated California's Consumers Legal Remedies Act and different user extortion laws by failing to adequately reappraisal and show apps connected the App Store.

"This fraud succeeded precisely due to the fact that Apple exploited the user spot it had deliberately cultivated done much than a decennary of selling the App Store arsenic a uniquely harmless and trusted environment," the ailment states.

The suit besides alleges Apple failed to enactment adjacent aft users reported the fraudulent apps. 

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Sparrow Wallet developer Craig Raw has publically warned astir fake versions since astatine slightest January 2024, penning connected X that "there is inactive a scam 'Sparrow Wallet' app connected the @Apple App Store, contempt myself and others having reported it weeks ago."

In June, Raw said Apple concisely flagged his developer relationship for termination aft helium submitted a placeholder app intended to pass users that Sparrow Wallet is desktop-only. Apple aboriginal reversed the decision.