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SAN FRANCISCO (CN) — Former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao has been charged with six counts of conspiracy and bribery, federal officials confirmed at a news conference on Friday.
According to the federal grand jury indictment, the former mayor stands accused of taking bribes of up to $95,000 in cash payments to further the business interests of the Duong family, which owns local recycling business Cal Waste Solutions.
Thao’s long-term romantic partner Andre Jones, Cal Waste Solutions owner David Duong and his son Andy Duong also face charges.
“The public needs to know it can trust the people at City Hall,” said Patrick D. Robbins, first assistant United States attorney from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Thao was arraigned in federal court Friday morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kandis A. Westmore at the Ron V. Dellums Federal Courthouse in Oakland. She was accompanied by Jones and both Duongs, as well as their attorneys. Jones was the only defendant without a private attorney, stating before the court that he could not afford his own.
Thao pleaded not guilty.
According to the indictment filed Jan. 9, 2025, Thao promised to take official actions as the mayor of Oakland to benefit David Duong and Andy Duong, in exchange for various benefits to Thao and Jones.
Prosecutors also say David and Andy Duong funded a $75,000 negative mailer targeting Thao’s opponents in the mayoral election, and made $95,000 in payments to Jones for a no-show job with their housing company, with the promise of additional payments.
Once Thao became mayor of Oakland in January 2023, prosecutors say she took steps to further the corrupt relationship with the Duongs, including using her influence to help appoint a high-level city of Oakland official selected by the Duongs and requesting that members of her staff meet with and tour the Duongs’ housing company.
The revelation of the mailer has sparked concerns it influenced the results of the close 2022 mayoral race, which Thao only won by around 680 votes.
The recently recalled politician has claimed she is innocent following an unexplained FBI raid on her home last year.
News of the indictment broke Thursday when officials from the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Attorney’s Office said they planned to announce the results of a “significant law enforcement action” at an upcoming news conference.
Federal agencies were tight-lipped about the announcement, and many declined requests from news outlets to confirm the claims against Thao ahead of the press conference.
In front of the courthouse, Thao’s lawyer Jeffrey Tsai addressed reporters with a prepared statement.“The mayor looks forward to defending herself against these charges, showing that there is in fact no evidence to support these charges,” Tsai said.
Last June, the former mayor’s house and several other residences in the Oakland Hills were raided by the FBI as part of an unspecified investigation, months before voters in November recalled Thao from her position.
In a press conference at the time, Thao denied any wrongdoing and said she was “confident” she would not be charged with a crime.
“I’m not going down like that. We’re not going down like that,” Thao told reporters.
Authorities also targeted the home of Andy Duong, a member of the politically powerful Duong family. The firm was previously investigated over claims it used straw donors to make unlawful campaign contributions to Thao and other elected city officials over several election cycles.
Straw donors — often the friends, family or associates of someone who wants to contribute a larger amount of money to a campaign — are prohibited under campaign finance law. These people will often donate smaller amounts on their behalf and get reimbursed later.
Thao is one of several Oakland politicians whose election campaigns received thousands of dollars in suspected straw donor contributions that can be traced to the Duongs, according to state investigators.
In addition to Thao, the Duongs are connected to prominent politicians like Attorney General Rob Bonta, who has accepted over $150,000 in campaign contributions from the Duongs and their associates. Bonta later donated the funds to charity out of “an abundance of caution,” ABC 7 News reported.
One man tied to the investigation, Mario Juarez, was targeted by gunmen last June in an attempted killing after a “falling out” with the Duongs, the East Bay Times reported. Juarez told police that he believed the shooting was in response to his involvement in an “investigation” but didn’t elaborate, according to police.
Thao faces up to 95 years in prison if convicted of all charges.
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