Apple is facing a new lawsuit from three customers who allegedly lost a total of $1.8 million after falling victim to a fake Bitcoin wallet app in the App Store, according to a complaint filed Friday in federal court in California.
The complaint alleges that Apple violated the California Consumer 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.” Because of these assurances in Apple’s marketing, the complaint said the plaintiffs believed 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 published similar fake apps in the App Store that can trick users into giving up control of their funds.
“Users discovered that their accounts had been wiped and their cryptocurrency assets transferred to the fraudsters’ private wallets,” the complaint states. “This fraud succeeded precisely because Apple exploited the consumer trust it had deliberately cultivated over more than a decade by marketing the App Store as a uniquely secure and trusted environment.”
Plaintiffs James Ramirez, Christopher Ellis and Jalen Delgado were stolen amounts of Bitcoin worth approximately $875,000, $840,000 and $120,000 respectively through the app from May to August 2025, according to the complaint.
Even when victims reported fraud, the lawsuit alleges that Apple often took little or 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 several fake versions of its app appearing in the App Store. In a social media post from January 2024, for example, he said “there is still a fraudulent ‘Sparrow Wallet’ app in the @Apple App Store, although I and others reported it weeks ago.”
Last month, Raw said its attempt to protect users by submitting a “placeholder” app to the App Store containing marketing screenshots indicating that Sparrow Wallet is a desktop app only resulted in the termination of its Apple developer account due to “dishonest activity.” Apple later reversed this decision.
The plaintiffs are seeking damages, including reimbursement for all funds wrongfully lost through the fraudulent Sparrow Wallet app.
Update — July 27 at 5:30 a.m. PT: In response to our request for comment, Apple said it has taken swift action to remove all apps impersonating Sparrow Wallet from the App Store and to terminate developer accounts associated with those apps.
Apple said developers who suspect that content available on an Apple service infringes their intellectual property rights can submit a dispute form to Apple’s legal department, and customers can also report scams or fraud on the App Store. Apple says it takes immediate action against apps that don’t follow its guidelines.
Apple previously announced that it removed 193,000 developer accounts due to fraud concerns and prevented more than $2.2 billion in potentially fraudulent transactions in 2025.
