The federal corruption investigation that burst into headlines in Oakland last year has spread to neighboring San Leandro, where on Tuesday prosecutors charged Councilmember Bryan Azevedo with accepting bribes from the operators of a housing company that wanted to do business with his city.
According to the charge sheet, Azevedo attended a government delegation to Vietnam in 2023 that was organized by a business association controlled by a co-conspirator who wanted Azevedo to help his company obtain lucrative city contracts.
The business group is likely the Vietnamese American Business Association, a network founded by Oakland businessman David Duong and his family. Duong is also the head of California Waste Solutions, a recycling company that contracts with Oakland to pick up waste.
In January, federal prosecutors charged Duong and his son Andy with a scheme to bribe Oakland mayor Sheng Thao and her partner, Andre Jones, in pursuit of contracts for a housing company, Evolutionary Homes. The Duongs set up Evolutionary Homes pursue homeless shelter contracts.
According to the new charges against Azevedo, the San Leandro councilmember met with two individuals — identified in the indictment as “Co-Conspirator 1” and “Co-Conspirator 2” — and agreed to help them obtain a city contract for a housing company. In exchange, prosecutors claim that Azevedo would receive a percentage of the profits from whatever units San Leandro purchased.
The housing company is not named in the latest charging documents for Azevdo. But based on previous reporting and public records, the company is probably Evolutionary Homes. The Duongs incorporated Evolutionary Homes in 2022 in partnership with Mario Juarez, a Fruitvale businessman active in local politics.
At the instruction of his co-conspirators, Azevedo allegedly created a limited liability company and a bank account in his wife’s name to receive the bribe and kickback payments, and to mask his involvement in the scheme, prosecutors allege. In November 2023, two months after setting up the bank account, Co-Conspirator 1 met with Azevedo for dinner in Alameda and gave him $2,000 in cash.
Over the next few months, Azevedo allegedly took steps to benefit Evolutionary Homes. According to prosecutors, Azevedo advocated for an emergency shelter ordinance that would have given Evolutionary Homes more opportunities to sell its housing units to the city. Azevedo also took other San Leandro officials on a tour of the company’s model units. On June 17, 2024, Azevedo took a vote in the city council to further an emergency ordinance.
Three days after this vote, on June 20, the FBI and other federal agents raided the homes of Sheng Thao, her romantic partner Andre Jones, and properties linked to David and Andy Duong. In an indictment unsealed in January 2025, prosecutors accused Thao and Jones of receiving tens of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for promising favors to the Duongs, including purchasing housing units from Evolutionary Homes.
Azevedo’s home was also raided in January. In an interview with ABC 7 News, Azevedo said agents took his cellphones, laptops, and iPads. In May, federal prosecutors informed Azevedo he was the target of a federal investigation, according to media reports.
According to the latest charging documents, Azevedo allegedly lied to federal agents, telling them he did not receive payments from Co-Conspirator 1 during an interview. Agents also asked if Co-Conspirator 1’s family had business interests before the city of San Leandro, and Azevedo said they did not.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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