Apple is facing a new lawsuit from three customers who allegedly lost a combined $1.8 million after falling victim to a fake Bitcoin wallet app in the App Store, according to a complaint filed in California federal court on Friday.
The complaint alleges that Apple violated California's Consumers Legal Remedies Act and other laws by failing to adequately review and monitor apps distributed through the App Store, despite marketing it as "a safe and trusted place to discover and download apps." Due to these assurances in Apple's marketing, the complaint said the plaintiffs trusted that a Sparrow Wallet app they downloaded from the App Store on iOS was legitimate, when in reality it was a fraudulent spoof designed to steal Bitcoin from users.
Sparrow Wallet is only available on Windows, macOS, and Linux. The popular Bitcoin wallet is not available on iOS, but scammers have released fake lookalike apps in the App Store that can trick users into giving up control of their funds.
"Users found their accounts had been wiped out and their cryptocurrency assets transferred to the scammers' private wallets," the complaint says. "This fraud succeeded precisely because Apple exploited the consumer trust it had deliberately cultivated through more than a decade of marketing the App Store as a uniquely safe and trusted environment."
The plaintiffs James Ramirez, Christopher Ellis, and Jalen Delgado had Bitcoin amounts that were worth approximately $875,000, $840,000, and $120,000 respectively stolen via the app from May to August of 2025, according to the complaint.
Even when victims reported fraud, the lawsuit alleges that Apple often took little to no action, and it says other fake Sparrow apps remain in the App Store.
Sparrow Wallet developer Craig Raw has publicly addressed Apple's slow response to multiple fake versions of his app appearing in the App Store. In a January 2024 social media post, for example, he said "there is still a scam 'Sparrow Wallet' app on the @Apple App Store, despite myself and others having reported it weeks ago."
Last month, Raw said his attempt at protecting users by submitting a "placeholder" app to the App Store that contained marketing screenshots stating that Sparrow Wallet is a desktop app only resulted in his Apple Developer account being flagged for termination due to "dishonest activity." Apple later reversed this decision.
The plaintiffs are seeking damages, including reimbursement of all funds wrongfully lost through the fraudulent Sparrow Wallet app.
