Judge Refers Apple VP of Finance Alex Roman for Criminal Contempt After ‘Outright Lies’

U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers on Wednesday accused an Apple finance executive of lying under oath during the company’s legal battle with Epic Games.

Gonzalez Rogers said that Apple vice president of finance Alex Roman gave testimony that was “replete with misdirection and outright lies” regarding when Apple decided on the 27% commission fee it charges for purchases made outside the App Store.

“Contemporaneous business documents reveal that on the contrary, the main components of Apple’s plan, including the 27 percent commission, were determined in July 2023,” wrote Gonzalez Rogers in her ruling. “Neither Apple, nor its counsel, corrected the, now obvious, lies.”

Gonzalez Rogers has referred the case to a U.S. attorney for possible criminal contempt proceedings against both Apple and Roman.

Judge Gonzalez Rogers on Wednesday ruled that Apple violated a court order to better promote competition by opening up its App Store to outside payment options. The judge found that Apple “willfully” violated her injunction.

The judge sided with Epic Games, publisher of Fortnite, who alleged that Apple failed to comply with a 2021 court order issued by Judge Gonzalez Rogers, finding that the Cupertino firm had engaged in anticompetitive conduct in violation of California law.

The judge ordered Apple to make changes to its App Store, including banning Apple from charging commisisons on purchases made outside of the store. Apple must immediately stop all of its anti-steering policies. The company can no longer prevent developers from informing customers about content ans subscription purchases outside of the App Store.

The judge also instructed federal prosecutors to investigate whether Apple is in criminal contempt of court for violating her 2021 ruling.

“That it thought this Court would tolerate such insubordination was a gross miscalculation,” Judge Gonzalez Rogers added. “As always, the cover-up made it worse. For this Court, there is no second bite at the apple.”

In a brief statement, Apple said: “We strongly disagree with the decision. We will comply with the court’s order and we will appeal.”