Google defeats lawsuit over gift card fraud

A federal judge dismissed a proposed class action lawsuit accusing Google of illegally profiting from Google Play gift card scams by refusing to refund millions of dollars stolen from victims. In a late Monday decision, U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman said the plaintiff Judy May lost money because scammers induced her to buy gift cards, and failed to show that Google caused her losses or knew it was receiving stolen funds. The San Jose, California-based judge also said Google was not liable for keeping 15% to 30% commissions on purchases that scammers made with the gift cards, because Google's conduct was unrelated to the original fraud.