SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – Former Oakland mayor Sheng Thao made her first court appearance Friday to face an eight-count indictment charging Thao, her partner, and two businessmen with bribery.
The indictment, unsealed Friday, alleged Thao made promises to the businessmen – David Duong and Andy Duong – to take official actions to benefit the pair in exchange for financial gains to her and her partner, Andre Jones, in the weeks leading up to the November 2022 mayoral election.
Federal prosecutors said David Duong was the president and CEO of a recycling company that serviced homes in Oakland and was the chairman and co-owner of a prefabricated manufactured homes company. His son, Andy, worked for the recycling company and was a founder and co-owner of the manufactured homes company.
The alleged deal, as explained by the indictment, involved Thao promising the Duongs that, if elected, she would commit the City of Oakland to purchase manufactured homes from the Duongs’ company, extend the city’s recycling contract with their company, and appoint Duong-selected city officials.
In return, the Duongs funded a $75,000 mailing campaign against Thao’s opponents in the Oakland mayoral race. They also paid Jones $95,000 for what prosecutors described as a “no-show” job with the housing company. The indictment alleged additional payments for Thao and Jones had been promised by the Duongs.
Prosecutors said the four defendants actively worked to conceal the financial arrangement. They explained that payments were made to Jones, rather than Thao, as an attempt to limit the paper trail between the mayor and the Duongs. The Duongs are alleged to have presented Jones’ “no-show” job as a legitimate position with the housing company to further conceal the efforts and used fake invoices from the recycling company for bribe payments.
The indictment stated that despite the concealment efforts, Thao benefited from the payments made to Jones. The document said financial records showed Thao either entirely paying or splitting the rent payment of the home she shared with Jones. But after the bribe payments started in January 2023, Jones began paying the rent entirely and his contributions to household bills increased.
Former Oakland mayor Sheng Thao's longtime romantic partner, Andre Jones (right), walking with attorney Walter Riley (left) after his first court appearance on bribery and fraud charges on January 17, 2025.KCBS Radio/Mike DeWald
“The public deserves honesty and transparency from City Hall. When elected officials agree to a pay-to-play system to benefit themselves rather than work for the best interests of their constituents, that breaches the public trust,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Patrick D. Robbins. “This indictment reaffirms the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s commitment to root out, investigate, and prosecute corruption in our local governments.”
“The alleged crimes committed against the citizens of Oakland by former Mayor Thao and her co-conspirators are a clear breach of public trust and cannot be tolerated,” said IRS Criminal Investigation Oakland Field Office Special Agent in Charge Linda Nguyen. “Public corruption schemes are rooted in greed and typically leave a money trail behind. IRS-CI specializes in following that trail and building cases that lead to justice.”
After Friday morning’s court appearance, Thao and her attorney, Jeff Tsai, spoke outside the federal courthouse in response to the charges.
“Today’s indictment and the press conference held by the government earlier this morning was successful in grabbing headlines,” Tsai told reporters. “But what it did not do was serve justice. The indictment itself is chock full of allegations, but it is not chock full of evidence.”
Tsai said he believes the evidence and the basis for the investigation is from an “unnamed co-conspirator” in the case, noting that he believed the evidence that exists would exonerate his client.
“We think the timing of the indictment has amplified, of course, the politicization of this issue,” Tsai continued in his statement, adding that it has not treated all parties fairly.
All four defendants each face one count of the following charges: conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, conspiracy to commit honest services mail and wire fraud, and honest services mail fraud. They all also each face two counts of honest services wire fraud. Andy Duong was additionally charged with a count of making false statements to government agents.
The bribery conspiracy charge and false statements charge carries a maximum prison sentence of five years, the bribery charge has a potential sentence of 10 years, and the honest services fraud charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count.
KCBS’ Mike DeWald contributed to this report from Oakland.
