The article says that the iPads never changed hands because the Attorney General's office started investigating during all this. It is likely that what happened

The article says that the iPads never changed hands because the Attorney General's office started investigating during all this. It is likely that what happened is another applicant was also asked for a bribe at around the same time and reported it to the Attorney General of California. You can report a myriad of crimes directly to the AG's office: https://oag.ca.gov/contact https://oag.ca.gov/contact