May 2021

$500 000 USD

GLOBAL

TOAST WALLET

DESCRIPTION OF EVENTS

"Toast is a Ripple (XRP) non-custodial wallet that was created in 2017 by a company named StarStone Unlimited, based in New Zealand, Dunedin.

The StarStone corporation was also established in 2017 by Richard Holland, and it seems that the wallet is their only product launched so far. They claim that the wallet was created to be “simple enough for your grandma but safe enough for a Swiss banker.”"

"Toast Plus - XRP Wallet Easy and Secure XRP Storage"

"Toast Plus is XRP wallet that is simple and safe to use. It works with a PIN and a Hierarchical Deterministic (HD) passphrase for extra protection."

"Toast Plus is a product of Peninsula Software and has not been authorized, endorsed, sponsored or otherwise approved by Ripple or its affiliates."

"[T]he App Store is more than just a storefront — it’s an innovative destination focused on bringing you amazing experiences. And a big part of those experiences is ensuring that the apps we offer are held to the highest standards for privacy, security, and content. Because we offer nearly two million apps — and we want you to feel good about using every single one of them."

"I read a lot of good things about the Toast wallet here, but the comments were mostly from 1-2 years ago. I downloaded the “Toast Plus” app on Apple store assuming this was the same one... it even showed up high in search when I searched XRP Wallet (I know, not smart at all) and it had 35 reviews."

"Plaintiff believed that Toast Plus was a version of Toast Wallet, a wellknown cryptocurrency wallet, as the names were similar and the logo used for the application in the App Store was the same or nearly identical."

"Josue Armenta scammed using the app [T]oast [P]lus." "He's in Mexico."

"On or about January 2, 2018, Plaintiff caused approximately 474 Ripple (“XRP”) cryptocurrency coins to be transferred from the Bittrex cryptocurrency exchange to a secure cryptocurrency wallet, called Rippex." "Rippex shut down February 2nd, 2018; however, Plaintiff could still access her coins from any secure wallet. Plaintiff thereafter linked her private XRP key, or a seed phrase, into Toast Plus in March of 2021." "As Plaintiff intended to hold the XRP as an investment and not to actively trade it, she did not check the Toast Wallet Plus application after entering her seed phrase into it." "In August of 2021, Plaintiff checked her account on Toast Plus, and discovered that not only did she have no XRP in the Wallet, her account was "deleted" on March 3, 2021."

"Plaintiff thereupon began investigating the matter, and discovered that Toast Plus was not in fact a version of the legitimate Toast Wallet application, but was instead a “spoofing” or “phishing” program created for the sole purpose of stealing cryptocurrency, by obtaining consumers' cryptocurrency account information and thereafter routing the same to the hackers' personal accounts."

"The application Toast Plus's sole purpose is to entice consumers to divulge their cryptocurrency account information, by mimicking an established cryptocurrency wallet in name, mark, and design, thereby allowing hackers to steal that cryptocurrency."

"Plaintiff took the following steps to investigate the theft of her property: contacting or attempting to contact Toast Plus; investigating Toast Plus through online resources; contacting Apple; contacting the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigations; and identifying co-conspirators involved in the fraudulent acts through online research."

"Plaintiff downloaded the application known as Toast Plus from the Apple App Store on or about March of 2020 onto her iPhone."

"Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a)(1), the members of the Classes are so numerous and geographically dispersed that individual joinder of all Class members is impracticable. While Plaintiff is informed and believes that there are at least hundreds or thousands of members of the Class, the precise number of Class members in Maryland and Nationwide is unknown to Plaintiff, but may be ascertained from Defendant's books and records. Class members may effectively and efficiently be notified of the pendency of this action by recognized, Court-approved dissemination methods, which may include U.S. mail, electronic mail, Internet postings, and/or publication."

"Plaintiff personally has suffered more than $5,000 in direct consequential economic damages as a result of Defendant's acts and omissions, in that she lost cryptocurrency of value, and has spent her time investigating the source and method of the fraud, determining who was responsible, contacting law enforcement agencies, and communicating with Defendant to attempt to investigate and remediate the fraud, to no avail, and conferring with legal counsel on the fraud and any remedies."

"Just weeks ago, Apple announced the settlement of another class action suit filed by US-based software developers, promising better terms for the people who make much of the software that iPhone users run."

"From the beginning, the App Store has been an economic miracle; it is the safest and most trusted place for users to get apps, and an incredible business opportunity for developers to innovate, thrive and grow," the company said in a press release announcing the changes, which are pending approval by a judge.

"Apple Inc. escaped a proposed class action brought over a fraudulent cryptocurrency wallet app that was available for download on its App Store, after a federal judge in San Francisco ruled the tech company’s platform is shielded by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

Hadona Diep sued Apple in Maryland federal court in September, accusing the company of hosting “Toast Plus,” a fraudulent mobile application for a crypto wallet that had a similar name and similar or identical logo to its legitimate counterpart. When Diep checked its status, she found that the lookalike app had deleted her account"

Explore This Case Further On Our Wiki

A legitimate "Toast" wallet, created in 2017 by StarStone Unlimited in New Zealand, was designed to be simple and safe for storing Ripple (XRP). However, a deceptive app, "Toast Plus," appeared on the Apple App Store, with a similar name and logo. Many users downloaded Toast Plus, thinking it was related to the genuine Toast wallet. Unfortunately, it was a phishing program created to steal cryptocurrency by tricking users into revealing their account information. Many users lost cryptocurrency stored in this deceptive app and took various steps to investigate the theft. Apple faced a class action lawsuit for hosting this fraudulent app but argued that it was protected by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

QUADRIGA INITIATIVE

CRYPTO WATCHDOG & FRAUD RECOVERY PLATFORM

A COMMUNITY-BASED, NOT-FOR-PROFIT

$500 000 USD

MAY 2021

GLOBAL

TOAST WALLET

DESCRIPTION OF EVENTS

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