A bribery allegation against Apple’s head of global security has been dropped due to lack of evidence. Thomas Moyer, who has worked at Apple since 2006, was accused of donating 200 iPads to the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office in exchange for concealed firearms licenses.
Two officials at the sheriff’s office also faced indictments as part of the investigation.
“Undersheriff Sung and Cpt. Jensen managed to extract from Thomas Moyer a promise that Apple would donate iPads to the Sheriff’s Office,” the district attorney’s office previously alleged. “The promised donation of 200 iPads worth close to $70,000 was scuttled at the eleventh hour just after August 2, 2019, when Sung and Moyer learned of the search warrant that the District Attorney’s Office executed at the Sheriff’s Office seizing all its CCW license records.”
A grand jury indicted Moyer in November 2020. This followed a two-year investigation by the DA’s office. Apple supposedly agreed to offer 200 iPads, worth $70,000, to the sheriff’s office. However, as noted, the deal was scrapped when the district attorney seized permit records. Now Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Eric Geffon has dismissed the case completely due to lack of evidence.
‘Pure speculation’
Geffon called the bribery accusations “pure speculation” and “not supported by evidence presented to the grand jury.”
The judge noted a lack of corrupt intent on Moyer’s part. This was evidenced by the fact that Moyer offered to donate the iPads to the sheriff’s office, instead of one specific officer. Moyer also followed Apple’s own internal rules for requesting donations. Apple carried out an internal investigation in November and concluded no wrongdoing.
“I thank the Court for giving this case such careful consideration, and for allowing me to move forward with my life,” Moyer said in a statement. “I also want to thank Apple, my friends and family for their unwavering support.”
However, Santa Clara District Attorney Jeff Rosen said the DA’s office still thinks Moyer is guilty. “We believe that the criminal grand jury — the 19 citizens who heard direct evidence and from witnesses in this public corruption case — correctly indicted Mr. Moyer for bribery,” Rosen said. “We stand by the grand jury’s decision and are evaluating our options.”
Source: Washington Post and Reuters
