Google files lawsuits against cryptocurrency scammers for fake android apps

Google launched a lawsuit against a group of cryptocurrency scammers, claiming that by posting fake investment and cryptocurrency trading apps to Google Play, they had tricked over 100,000 people globally. Google asserted that the con artists gave misleading information about their identities and the nature of the app in an effort to set legal precedents that would safeguard consumers.

Google says it’s the first tech company to take action against crypto scammers, and is doing so as a way to set a legal precedent to establish protections for users. The lawsuit claims the defendants made “multiple misrepresentations to Google in order to upload their fraudulent apps to Google Play, including but not limited to misrepresentations about their identity, location, and the type and nature of the application being uploaded.”

The company is bringing civil claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law as well as breach of contract claims against the group of scammers, who the company said created and published at least 87 fraudulent apps to dupe users.

The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York, said the alleged scammers, identified as Yunfeng Sun, also known as Alphonse Sun, and Hongnam Cheung, also known as Zhang Hongnim or Stanford Fischer, conducted their scheme at least until 2019. The two allegedly lured victims to download their apps from Google Play and other sources through three methods: text message campaigns using Google Voice to victims primarily in the U.S. and Canada, online promotional videos on YouTube and other platforms, and affiliate marketing campaigns that paid user commissions for signing up people.

Sun, Cheung and their agents designed the apps to appear legitimate, showing users that they were maintaining balances on the app and earning returns on their investments, the lawsuit said. However, users couldn’t withdraw their investments or purported gains.

Google said in the complaint that when it would take the apps offline, the scammers would create new ones and upload them to Google Play, using “varying computer network infrastructure and accounts to obfuscate their identities, and making material misrepresentations to Google in the process.”

Google claims it suffered damages in excess of $75,000 by incurring expenses to investigate the breach and on safety and integrity resources. The company is seeking a permanent injunction against the defendants for general damages and to prevent them and their employees from creating Google accounts and accessing Google services.