Apple's Global Security Chief Indicted in Scheme to Trade iPads for Gun Permits, but Apple Says It's Found No Wrongdoing

[MacRumors]

Earlier this week, Apple's Chief Security Offier Thomas Moyer and others were charged in an expanding investigation involving the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office over exchanging bribes for concealed gun permits, reported the Morgan Hill Times.

According to the investigation, Santa Clara County Undersheriff Rick Sung held back four concealed carry weapons permits for Apple's security team unless the company agreed to donate 200 iPads worth $75,000 to the Sheriff's Office. Rather than reporting the bribe request, Moyer was apparently set to facilitate the tech donation until the last moment when an investigation into the situation was started.

Attorneys for Moyer and [insurance broker Harpreet Chadha] maintain their clients’ innocence, saying they were collateral damage in an ongoing political rivalry between [District Attorney Jeff] Rosen and Sheriff [Laurie] Smith.

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

Facebook has also been linked to the bribery scheme, with officials at AS Solution, the company that provides executive protection for Facebook, pleading guilty.

For Apple's part, the company is standing by Moyer, providing a statement to Ars Technica indicating that it has investigated the situation and "found no wrongdoing."

“We expect all of our employees to conduct themselves with integrity," an Apple spokesperson said in a statement. "After learning of the allegations, we conducted a thorough internal investigation and found no wrongdoing."

Moyer, Chadha, and the two officials from the Sheriff's Office are scheduled to be arraigned on January 11.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Article Link: Apple's Global Security Chief Indicted in Scheme to Trade iPads for Gun Permits, but Apple Says It's Found No Wrongdoing

 

[LeeW]

Bribery, makes the world go round at every level.

 

[macduke]

I just learned about this the other day and the whole story is so bizarre. If there was a bribe of $75K in iPads being sent to the Sheriff's office, wouldn't that need to be signed off on by higher ups? Is there no wrongdoing since it didn't actually end up taking place? Is the guy being charged just because a bribe was agreed to in principle?

 

[vicviper789]

Why does Apple get to have armed security? I thought guns were bwad though 🔫

 

[ouimetnick]

Seems like Rick Sung is the bad guy here trying to extort $75k in iPads for folks wanting to exercise their 2nd amendment. Moyer shouldn’t have agreed to it though.

 

[canyonblue737]

Perhaps Apple thought it was a legitimate transaction to trade the iPads for permits and their security chief was open and honest to the team he planned on doing it? Weird stuff.

 

[2010mini]

Bribery for something you shouldn’t need a permit for. Right to bear arms..... not right to bear arms only if the government allows. Or if one bribes the government enough.

 

[Eso]

California guns laws working as intended.

 

[bsamcash]

Santa Clara County, the county that houses Silicon Valley, my county, it can’t afford 200 iPads?

 

[bsamcash]

Bribery for something you shouldn’t need a permit for. Right to bear arms..... not right to bear arms only if the government allows. Or if one bribes the government enough.

The permit is not to bear arms. It’s to conceal arms.

 

[OriginalMacRat]

Why does Apple get to have armed security? I thought guns were bwad though 🔫

It's not for the security team walking the Apple buildings..

It is for the armed SWAT teams that guard Tim Cook and other executives.

 

[alex00100]

I just learned about this the other day and the whole story is so bizarre. If there was a bribe of $75K in iPads being sent to the Sheriff's office, wouldn't that need to be signed off on by higher ups? Is there no wrongdoing since it didn't actually end up taking place? Is the guy being charged just because a bribe was agreed to in principle?

Thats how bribes are always investigated. Agreement to a bribe is enough.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Wait! this sounds so sketchy.

 

[CJ Dorschel]

This is the oddest thing I’ve read today.

 

[dogslobber]

"If you can't do the time, don't do the crime." - Sir Sean Connery

 

[Rooskibar03]

Ahh Leftist. Guns are bad for you, but not for us.

 

[centauratlas]

The permit is not to bear arms. It’s to conceal arms.

California is not an open carry state so the only way to bear this type of arms is to concealed carry.

 

[Romeo_Nightfall]

Why does Apple get to have armed security? I thought guns were bwad though 🔫

Guns only bad if not Timmy boys have them - typical democratic double standard!

 

[TheDailyApple]

Weird, why would you agree to a bribe when you could just report it and get your permit legally (and cheaply)?

 

[planteater]

Hey, the real crime is they wanted iPads instead of MacBooks.

 

[Mr. Awesome]

This is the weirdest MR article title I’ve read in a long time.

 

[Johnny907]

Ah, I was wondering if Macrumors would get around to covering this story. Two days later but hey better late than never.
My only real thought on this is after seeing some people try to paint Moyer as the victim here; when he encountered this illegal roadblock to what should have been a normal permit request, why didn't he sick Apple's ridiculously well funded legal team on the Sheriff's department? What exactly was it about this request that he wanted to keep out of the light of day and scrutiny of the public? Whatever the reasons, his actions and behavior in this incident are not those of a an innocent or ethical individual, which is pretty worrisome given his position as the Head of Global Security for Apple.

 

[Westside guy]

Earlier this week, Apple's Chief Security Offier Thomas Moyer and others were charged in an expanding investigation involving the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office over exchanging bribes for concealed gun permits, reported the Morgan Hill Times.

He's not very good at his job - someone stole the "c" right from under his nose!

 

[Carnegie]

This seems more like extortion than bribery.

An Apple employee gets extorted by a government actor. That employee complies with the extortion in order to get what they are (or should be) entitled to. Another government actor charges the extortion victim with bribery. Apparently, the extortion victim should have reported one government actor's extortion attempt to a different government actor and hoped that things worked out. (They should have reported it, but they also shouldn't be held criminally liable for complying with the government's extortion. It's understandable if they didn't want to report the government's extortion. Reporting government extortion might be fraught in ways that reporting extortion by private parties might not be.)

People shouldn't need permits to lawfully carry firearms. But even if they are required to get them (which they effectively are in California, because open carry is generally prohibited), government actors should't have broad discretion when it comes to whether permits are issued to particular individuals. There should be objective criteria which determine whether particular individuals can get permits. A local sheriff's office shouldn't get to decide whether they like someone enough (or are getting enough from them in return) to issue them a permit.

 

[jhfenton]

The permit is not to bear arms. It’s to conceal arms.

True, but that also shouldn't require a license, or at least, as in more than 40 states, a license easily-acquired with a background check and usually some basic training.

The only unusual thing about this case is that it's being prosecuted. In states like NJ, MD, NY, and many counties in CA, only the well-connected can get concealed carry licenses. That's not a coincidence.