Apple’s leaker drama just got messier (and a bit weird)

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The Apple leak saga just got another twist, and it’s part courtroom drama, part tech soap opera. 

Earlier this year, Apple sued notorious leaker Jon Prosser, yes, that Prosser of YouTube rumor fame, and a man named Michael Ramacciotti. 

The company accused them of teaming up to break into an Apple development iPhone, swipe trade secrets, and cash in on the leaks. 

But in a new filing, Ramacciotti basically said, “Whoa, hold on, I didn’t plan any Ocean’s Eleven heist with Jon.”

Ramacciotti admits to accessing the iPhone in question, which belonged to a former Apple employee named Ethan Lipnik, and FaceTiming Prosser to show off unreleased iOS 26 features. 

But he denies stalking Lipnik to figure out when he’d be away, as Apple’s lawsuit alleged. 

According to Ramacciotti, Lipnik himself had already shown him those features weeks earlier, and he didn’t realize how sensitive the software was because, well, Lipnik seemed cool with it.

As for the money? Ramacciotti’s filing says Prosser paid him $650 after the FaceTime call, not as part of any prearranged deal. 

He claims he didn’t expect payment at all and had no clue Prosser was recording the call. 

And for the record, he says he doesn’t have any Apple trade secrets lying around, no screenshots, no secret videos, nothing.

Meanwhile, Prosser’s situation isn’t looking great. He told The Verge last week that he’s been in “active communication” with Apple, but the company says otherwise, that he hasn’t indicated when (or if) he’ll officially respond to the lawsuit. 

The court clerk has already entered a default against him, which means the case can move forward even if he stays silent. 

Apple’s next move? Filing for a default judgment, which could mean a legal win without Prosser ever saying a word.

So, to recap: one ex-Apple employee, one unwitting middleman, one chatty leaker, and one very angry trillion-dollar company. 

Only in 2025 could a FaceTime call over iOS 26 end up as Exhibit A in Apple’s latest courtroom thriller.