Bribery charges against Apple's global security boss dismissed in iPads-for-gun-permits case

Judge decides fondleslab giveaway was offered after permission to carry concealed weapons had been secured

The strange case against Apple global security boss Thomas Moyer, who was accused of trying to bribe his way to permits to carry concealed guns, has ended with the judge dismissing the charges.

The case was brought in November 2020, when prosecutors detailed how Apple’s Moyer had applied for concealed carry permits. Such permits are rare in California and the application process stretched across many months.

In February 2019, with the applications unresolved, Moyer met Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department officers Undersheriff Rick Sung and Captain James Jensen to discuss the permit applications and sent himself an email with the subject line “iPad Donation.”

Not long afterwards, Moyer formally offered to donate 200 iPads, worth around $70,000, to the Sheriff's Department. The permits he sought were granted shortly thereafter.

The offer of iPads, prosecutors alleged, was a bribe. And the bribe paid off with the long-awaited issuance of permits.

A grand jury liked that logic and Moyer was charged, along Sung and Jensen, and an insurance broker named Harpreet Chadha who allegedly offered the officers tickets to an ice hockey game in return for a concealed carry permit.

On Tuesday, however, California Superior Court Judge Eric S. Geffon threw out the case against Moyer.

The Register understands Moyer produced paperwork showing that he had gone through Apple’s processes for arranging a donation, and that Judge Geffon could find no evidence that the donation was an attempt to hasten the issuance of permits. The judge also noted there was evidence that by the time of the iPads offer, Moyer believed the permits had been approved, which rather undermined the prosecution’s timeline.

The officers and third party, however, still face charges.

Moyer will reportedly rejoin Apple after having stood down while the case played out. And there's now every chance that as he performs his duties protecting senior execs, he is carrying a concealed weapon. ®