CALIFORNIA – A woman filed a lawsuit against California-based Apple after scammers stole $80,000 she deposited into a cryptocurrency app from the Apple store.
The plaintiff Danyell Shin claims Apple enabled and maintained malicious apps in its App store. She says this led to the theft of financial assets, despite representing the apps as vetted, safe and secure.
Shin downloaded the Swiftcrypt app
Shin said around September 2024, she joined an online group aimed at sharing stock tips and investment strategies.
At the urging of group leader David Mills, a self-proclaimed financial expert, the group began trading cryptocurrency.
Shin and the other group members were encouraged to download and join an app called Swiftcrypt from either the App Store or the Google Play Store and utilize the $100 to $2,000 provided by the exchange to start “trading.”
After trusting Apple’s claims about App Store safety, Shin downloaded Swiftcrypt, and transferred money into what she believed was her account. She bought and traded cryptocurrency and Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs).
Shin’s account appeared to have increased to $421,000
Between September, 2024, and mid-January, 2025, Shin transferred approximately $80,000 into the Swiftcrypt app, including approximately $50,000 obtained through a loan from her husband’s 401k account.
By mid-January, 2025, Shin’s Swiftcrypt account appeared to have increased to $421,000.
About January 14, 2025, the Swiftcrypt account was suddenly locked, freezing Shin’s assets. A few days later, the app became non-functional and unresponsive.
Shin later discovered Swiftcrypt was illegitimate, unsafe, and failed to meet Apple’s claimed standards and vetting for cryptocurrency apps.
Pig butchering scam
The Swiftcrypt app was part of a “pig butchering” scam and the more than $80,000 that Shin had deposited was gone.
Pig butchering is a type of confidence and investment fraud where victims are lured into investing increasing amounts, often in cryptocurrency, before scammers vanish with the funds.
According to the court filing, the FBI recently reported that the total amount of money lost in these frauds in 2023 was over $5.6 billion.
Through this class action, Shin said she seeks to stop Apple’s unlawful practices and secure compensation for losses caused by misconduct.
