Apple sued after users lose $1.8M to fake Bitcoin wallet
Three customers sued Apple after losing a combined $1.8 million to scammers who used a fake Bitcoin wallet app downloaded from the App Store.
Three customers filed a lawsuit against Apple after losing a combined $1.8 million when they downloaded a fraudulent Bitcoin wallet app from the App Store. The complaint was filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Apple’s App Store faced a similar incident in April, when a fake Ledger Mac app stole $9.5 million from more than 50 users.
Plaintiffs James Ramirez, Christopher Ellis and Jalen Delgado say they entered their wallet seed phrases into an app that impersonated a known desktop wallet and lost roughly $875,000, $840,000 and $120,000, respectively, during 2025. The complaint states the app allowed scammers to transfer the plaintiffs’ Bitcoin out of their wallets.
The complaint identifies the impersonated product as Sparrow Wallet, a program available for Windows, macOS and Linux that has no official iOS version. The filing says the lack of an official iOS app made it easier for impostor apps to mislead users. The Sparrow Wallet developer has previously raised concerns about unauthorized copies appearing in the App Store.
Seed phrases are sequences of words that act as the master key to a cryptocurrency wallet. The complaint explains that anyone who enters a seed phrase into a malicious app effectively grants access to the wallet and can move funds out of it.
The plaintiffs allege Apple failed to adequately review and monitor apps on the App Store despite promoting the store as a trusted marketplace. The filing contends that Apple’s app review and oversight practices were deficient and allowed the scam app to be listed and downloaded.
Apple removed apps impersonating Sparrow Wallet and terminated developer accounts linked to those apps, the company reported. Apple also noted that developers and users can report apps that violate App Store guidelines and that it takes action against apps that do not comply with its rules.
The lawsuit seeks damages and other relief for the plaintiffs’ reported losses. The case will proceed in federal court, where the judge will consider the allegations against Apple.
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