FTC lawsuit exposes how subscription fraud networks evade App Store enforcement

A New lawsuit filed by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is a demonstration of how difficult it is to monitor app stores for fraudulent apps. The lawsuit alleges that a company known as Genesis Tech defrauded consumers and funneled revenues offshore through the use of shell companies designed to obscure its identity and hide its assets.

The Genesis Tech network allegedly included a series of subsidiaries registered in Cyprus and operating in Ukraine, which marketed its apps to American consumers. Its brands include fitness and nutrition apps MadMuscles, Harna and Unimeal AMWAPS LIMITED; PDF Guru and PDF Master from GORODOX LIMITED; Lumi’s fashion app BRAMALL LIMITED; Nebula horoscope application OBRIO LIMITED; Habit and personal productivity apps under the Wisey brand COFLEMEIN LIMITED; And others.

From early 2023 to mid-2025, these five companies’ product offerings accounted for nearly a quarter of a billion dollars in global revenue.

The lawsuit also notes that during the 12 months ending in September 2025, transactions through all PayPal accounts connected to the company totaled nearly $700 million.

The case highlights the growing challenge facing Apple and Google, as subscription scams evolve beyond individual apps into complex networks of shell companies. For example, Genesis Tech registered new corporate entities and created multiple business accounts to hide its identity, the suit alleges, and then transferred the money it earned across borders between its various affiliates.

By constantly creating new accounts, the app publisher was able to evade fraud monitoring programs for years, the FTC explains.

Like other fraudulent subscription apps that plague app stores today Which It has been subject to scrutiny from Organizers As consumer advocates, Genesis Tech products make it easy to subscribe but hard to cancel.

While the company promoted its products as free or low-cost, consumers who signed up would instead be met with automatically-renewing subscriptions. Sometimes, the company also charges customers for additional products without their knowledge or consent Even double charging they.

The company also made cancellation difficult by removing cancellation options from its websites and apps, and often continued to charge customers fees without authorization, the FTC lawsuit says.

The complaint says Genesis Tech’s practices violate the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Restoring Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA). Stamatis also names Skianis, Oksana Kocher, Irina Oleksin, Olga Garbuzenko, Rostislav Ivanitsa, and Victoria Savchuk as co-defendants in the case, which will be tried in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

TechCrunch has reached out to Genesis Tech for comment through the publicly available email addresses of the subsidiaries mentioned in the case. No comment was immediately provided.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken mobile app makers to court before, after it investigated and settled cases with… Anonymous questions and answers application for NGL teens, Dating app giant Match, The party app is useful, kids app maker hyperbeard, And neighboring players, such as Mobile advertising company Tapjoy or X-Mode data mediumamong other things.