Apple kept fake bitcoin wallet on App Store after $875,000 theft report, lawsuit alleges

A federal lawsuit filed on July 24, 2026, alleges that Apple allowed a fake bitcoin wallet app impersonating the legitimate Sparrow Wallet to remain available in its App Store for over a week after a user reported an $875,000 theft. During this period, another user reportedly lost approximately $840,000 to the fraudulent app. The three plaintiffs collectively claim losses amounting to about $1.84 million after entering their bitcoin seed phrases into the counterfeit app. These seed phrases grant full control over associated bitcoin wallets, making the theft possible.

The plaintiffs argue that Apple’s marketing and App Store environment led them to believe that apps in its marketplace were vetted and safe, thus placing responsibility on Apple for the scam. The fake wallet app reportedly continued to be promoted in curated cryptocurrency app collections alongside legitimate products. One plaintiff, James Ramirez, allegedly downloaded the app on July 25, 2025, immediately lost 7.4 BTC, and reported the theft to Apple that same day without receiving a response. Another plaintiff, Christopher Ellis, lost about $840,000 on August 3 after using the app.

The lawsuit asserts claims including consumer-protection violations, fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation, and failure to warn users, seeking reimbursement of lost assets, damages, and disclosure of Apple’s app review limitations. It also requests that Apple strengthen its controls and warn customers that App Store listings do not guarantee the authenticity of cryptocurrency applications. The lawsuit highlights that the official Sparrow Wallet is a desktop-only program and has no iOS version, making the mobile app an obvious impersonation.

In response, Apple told MacRumors that it has removed the counterfeit Sparrow Wallet apps and terminated the developer accounts responsible. Apple maintains a process for developers and users to report intellectual property infringements and fraud and notes that it previously terminated nearly 193,000 developer accounts over fraud-related issues. The company also said it rejected more than 371,000 misleading or copycat app submissions last year, stopping over $2.2 billion in potentially fraudulent transactions. CoinDesk reached out to Apple for additional comment but did not receive a response by publication time.