Oakland

What exactly is former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao accused of in the indictment?

Recalled Oakland Mayor Thao was indicted Friday

NBC Universal, Inc.

Friday’s indictment by federal prosecutors charges former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao with “a corrupt relationship with her partner Andre Jones, and local businessmen, defendants David Duong and Andy Duong.” 

At the time of the allegations, David Duong was – and is believed to still be – the president and CEO of Cal Waste Solutions, a recycling company contracted with the City of Oakland. He’s also co-owner of a housing company. His son, Andy, also works at Cal Waste Solutions and co-owns the same housing company. 

Leading up to Oakland’s 2022 mayoral election, federal prosecutors say Sheng Thao promised, if she was elected, the City of Oakland would buy housing units from the Duongs. In exchange, the indictment alleges the Duongs spent $75,000 on campaign mailers targeting her opponents.

Prosecutors say the Duongs also paid Thao’s partner Andre Jones $95,000 for a “no-show job” with their housing company, meaning no work was expected. 

Once Thao was mayor, prosecutors allege she used her influence to help appoint a high-level city official selected by the Duongs. 

On Friday, Oakland's City Administrator's Office told NBC Bay Area, "The person identified in the indictment as Employee 1, or the former Interim Deputy Director of Housing and Community Development, stopped working in that department at the end of 2023, and thereafter worked in a different department. The individual submitted their resignation notice to the City today, Friday, January 17, 2025."

“It’s clear the federal government is taking this very seriously,” said Michelle Rippy, chair of the Criminal Justice Department at CSU East Bay. “There certainly seems to be a lot of evidence that they have been able to obtain and list out in the indictment.” 

Prosecutors say the evidence was made possible by a partnership between the FBI, IRS and US Post Office.

The evidence also alleges Thao, Jones and the Duongs tried to cover up the scheme. Thao allegedly directed the Duongs to make payments to Jones to avoid a paper trail leading back to her. 

“The indictment itself is chock-full of allegations,” said Thao’s attorney Jeff Tsai on Friday. “But it is not chock-full of evidence, and that’s what we’re going to prove in the course of our defense of this case.”

"The case is built on allegations from an unknown co-conspirator that we believe, when evidence is revealed, will show my client has committed no crimes," Tsai said.  

In court Friday, Thao, Jones and the Duongs pled not guilty. Jones did not provide a statement. 

Attorneys representing David and Andy Duong released statements saying their clients are innocent. 

“We have kept quiet despite the media frenzy over the past months in the hope that the government would correctly come to see through objective investigation that the allegations are baseless, and being fanned by nothing more than gossip and supposition stitched together by the fabrications and delusions of those who lack all fundamental credibility,”  attorneys for Andy Duong wrote. 

Thao, Jones and the Duongs are presumed innocent until proven otherwise; however, Rippy says the indictment alone is having an impact on public trust in Oakland and beyond. 

“That is going to be a very big challenge to overcome in the future for not only Oakland but many other local governments to make sure that they can maintain what trust is left,” she said.

Contact Us