Apple security chief charged with trying to bribe police with iPads for gun licences

Apple’s global head of security has been accused of trying to bribe police with hundreds of free iPads in order to obtain concealed firearms licences for company employees.

Prosecutors in California allege that two officers were involved in a scam where they denied licences to carry concealed weapons (CCW) to applicants unless they offered something in return.

Thomas Moyer is accused of seeking to push through four such applications by Apple employees by offering to donate 200 iPads, worth nearly $70,000 (about £50,000), to the county sheriff’s office.

The handover was pulled at the last minute, prosecutors alleged, when Moyer, 50, and one of the officers – undersheriff Rick Sung – learned that police had raided the sheriff’s office and seized documents.

Police had been investigating the suspected bribery scam for more than two years.

Moyer has been charged with seeking to bribe officials.

Sung, 48, has been charged with asking for bribes and another officer, captain James Jensen, 43, is accused of helping him in one instance.

The Santa Clara county district attorney, Jeff Rosen, said: “Undersheriff Sung and captain Jensen treated CCW licences as commodities and found willing buyers. Bribe-seekers should be reported to the district attorney’s office, not rewarded with compliance.”

The BBC quoted him as saying: “Call this quid pro quo. Call it pay to play. Call it give to get. It is illegal and deeply erodes public confidence in the criminal justice system.

“When high-ranking members of a law enforcement agency are at the heart of a bribery scheme, it tarnishes the badge, the honour, the reputations and, tragically, the effectiveness of all law enforcement agencies.”

Harpreet Chadha, a 49-year-old insurance broker, was also charged in the case.

Sung was accused of demanding sought-after Valentine’s Day box seat tickets to a San Jose Sharks hockey game, worth about $6,000, from Chadha in return for a licence. “Sheriff Laurie Smith’s family members and some of her biggest political supporters held a small celebration of her re-election as sheriff in the suite,” prosecutors said.

A CCW license generally costs from $200 to $400. While there is a requirement that the applicant demonstrate “good cause” for the licence, as well as completing a firearms course and having good moral character, the sheriff has broad discretion in determining who should qualify.

All four of the men will have the charges formally read to them on 11 January, the district attorney’s office said on Monday. They face prison time if convicted.

Moyer’s lawyer, Ed Swanson, said: “Tom Moyer is innocent of the charges filed against him. He did nothing wrong and has acted with the highest integrity throughout his career. We have no doubt he will be acquitted at trial.

“His entire professional career has been founded on the belief that a good leader models ethics and integrity, and he does not deserve to have his good name tarnished by these baseless charges.”