In a high-profile lawsuit, Florida resident Maria Vaca is seeking $5 million in damages from Google, alleging the tech giant failed to promptly remove a fraudulent app from its Google Play Store.

Vaca claims she suffered significant financial losses due to the app, Yobit Pro, which purported to be a legitimate cryptocurrency platform but was, in fact, a scam.

Vaca reportedly invested $4.6 million into Yobit Pro, and her account balance appeared to grow to $7 million. However, when she attempted to withdraw her funds, the app demanded a $500,000 payment for “taxes.”

After making this payment, Vaca was then asked to invest an additional $2 million to access her money, at which point she realized she was being scammed. Upon refusing to pay, Vaca alleges she received threats from unidentified cyber-criminals demanding further investment.

Following this, Vaca contacted law enforcement and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which forwarded her complaint to Google. Vaca argues that she trusted Yobit Pro because she believed Google would not allow fraudulent apps on its platform.

The lawsuit claims that Google’s failure to act swiftly resulted in Vaca’s financial losses, severe emotional distress, and the collapse of her real estate business.

The lawsuit also highlights that Vaca is not the only victim, alleging that over 12,000 Android users downloaded Yobit Pro, with at least five others experiencing similar scams. The legal action criticizes Google for its delayed response in removing the app, which has reportedly damaged the reputation of the Google Play Store.

In response, Google acknowledges the harm caused by fraudulent apps and states that it is actively working to eliminate such threats from its platform.

The outcome of this lawsuit could have significant implications for how tech companies manage and vet applications available to their users.