Weeks ahead of the criminal trial for the corruption case involving former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, court filings from federal prosecutors reveal new details about the government’s case against Thao and other defendants.
From transcripts of a private phone call to new revelations about Thao’s personal finances, the documents shed light on the alleged political hold the Duong family had on Thao and Oakland City Hall.
The Duong’s own California Waste Solutions, Oakland’s recycling contractor. They also helped start a modular housing company called Evolutionary Homes. They’re both defendants in the criminal case, along with Thao and her longtime boyfriend Andre Jones.
Included within the new court records is a transcript that prosecutors say comes from a recorded 2024 phone call between Andy Duong and an unnamed Oakland city council member.
Early in the conversation, Duong invites the council member to join him on a yacht.
“If you can roll then we can party up up in the yacht,” Duong allegedly said.
According to the transcript, he also invited the council member to a future yacht event, saying, “I’ll keep you posted on another one…a private one for us only.”
When the unnamed council member asks about the recall efforts against Thao, Duong responds, “…we put a stop to it.” Thao was eventually recalled later that year.
In 2025, a grand jury delivered an eight-count indictment charging Thao, Jones and the Duongs with various bribery-related charges. Prosecutors say the Duongs helped Thao get elected and in exchange she allegedly used her position as mayor to get the city to buy housing units from the Duongs’ company, extend their recycling contract, and pay her boyfriend Andre Jones through a job with Evolutionary Homes.
All four defendants have pleaded not guilty in the corruption case.
According to the transcript of Duong’s alleged phone call with the council member, Duong appears to get frustrated about the city not buying housing units from Evolutionary Homes, yet, saying he called Sheng Thao and told her, “Aye, you got to get your [sh**] together…you want to – you know, you want to save your [mayoral] race…if you really want to continue for another term, then you better start acting right.”
A separate filing from the government seems to show Thao and Jones were struggling to pay their energy, water and car loan bills. Prosecutors say that some of those alleged bribery payments helped pay rent on the couple’s shared house and that Thao benefited from any payments made to Jones.
NBC Bay Area has reached out to the attorneys representing the Duongs, Jones and Thao.
As of Friday evening, only Jones’ attorney has responded.
He called the evidence the government is hoping to present, “incorrect, irrelevant, and unfairly prejudicial.”
The criminal trial is scheduled to begin in October.