Apple’s global head of security and two members of the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s office have been indicted by a grand jury for allegedly requesting and offering bribes for concealed weapons licenses.
Santa Clara County Undersheriff Rick Sung and Captain James Jensen “managed to extract” a promise from Thomas Moyer, Apple’s chief security officer, that the company would donate iPads to the sheriff’s office in exchange for four firearms licenses that were withheld from Apple employees, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office said in a statement Monday. The District Attorney’s Office conducted a two-year investigation in which it found that Sung and Jensen “held up” the licenses, refusing to release them until they got something of value, the statement added.
“Undersheriff Sung and Captain Jensen treated CCW licenses as commodities and found willing buyers. Bribe seekers should be reported to the District Attorney’s Office, not rewarded with compliance,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said.
Moyer allegedly offered to donate hundreds of Apple products to the sheriff’s office in exchange for the concealed gun licenses.
“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,” the district attorney’s office said in a statement.
Moyer’s attorney, Ed Swanson, called the allegations “baseless.”
“Tom is a hardworking, decent man with a long history of service to his community and his country,” Swanson said in a statement provided to CNN Business. “A U.S. Navy veteran who served his country during Desert Storm, Tom received a law degree and is a well-respected attorney. Tom has worked at Apple for 14 years, where he is now its head of Global Security. 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.”
Apple said it investigated the allegations and found no wrongdoing.
“We expect all of our employees to conduct themselves with integrity,” Apple spokesperson Josh Rosenstock said in a statement. “After learning of the allegations, we conducted a thorough internal investigation and found no wrongdoing.”
Chuck Smith, Sung’s attorney, said he intends to fight the charges.
“My client has been a dedicated public servant who has served his community with the highest standards of integrity and professionalism,” Smith said. “We believe he will be exonerated of all of these charges.”
The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s office said its officers are “held to the highest ethical and moral standards.”
“This is a difficult time for our organization, however our goal remains to provide the highest level of public safety to the residents of Santa Clara County,” the office said in a statement to CNN Business. “The hundreds of men and women who represent the Sheriff’s Office will continue to serve our community with compassion, honesty and integrity.”
A lawyer for Jensen did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The defendants will be arraigned Jan. 11.
