Apple settles lawsuit accusing CEO Cook of defrauding shareholders for $490 million

In order to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging that Chief Executive Tim Cook deceived investors by hiding the declining demand for iPhones in China, Apple has struck a $490 million settlement.

A judge must approve a preliminary settlement that was submitted to the U.S. District Court in Oakland, California, on Friday.

The case was sparked by Cook’s statement on an analyst call on November 1, 2018, saying that while Apple was under pressure to increase sales in markets where currencies had fallen, such Brazil, India, Russia, and Turkey, “I would not put China in that category.”

Apple abruptly lowered its quarterly sales projection by up to $9 billion on January 2, 2019, citing trade tensions between the United States and China. The following day, its shares dropped 10%, erasing around $74 billion in market value.