OAKLAND — In the most dramatic chapter yet of a corruption case that has rocked the East Bay’s political scene for years, a former mayor will walk into a federal courtroom this week to stand trial on federal conspiracy and bribery charges.
Jury selection begins Tuesday in the federal trial of Sheng Thao and three co-defendants, who are accused of an elaborate scheme to push millions of dollars in contracts toward the city’s recycling contractor and a fledgling housing company, in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in payoffs to the mayor and her longtime romantic partner Andre Jones.
The scandal shocked the Bay Area in June 2024 with a series of FBI raids on the Oakland Hills house shared by Thao and Jones, along with the waterfront business office of California Waste Solutions and the homes of its CEO, David Duong, and his son, Andy Duong. Indictments followed in January 2025.
After a long run-up to the trial marked by witness reveals and an attempt by the defendants to have the case tossed, here’s what’s to expect over the next several weeks:
Who is on trial, and for what?
The defendants include Thao — a former one-term city councilwoman who was elected mayor in 2022, before being recalled by voters in November 2024 — as well as her longtime romantic partner Andre Jones.
Also on trial are David Duong and his son, Andy Duong, two businessmen who have been deeply involved in the East Bay’s political scene for years. A Vietnamese immigrant who fled the country as a teenager after the fall of Saigon, David Duong founded California Waste Solutions in 1992 and later another company — Vietnam Waste Solutions — back in Ho Chi Minh City. The Oakland-based company now serves as the city’s recycling contractor, while also handling a portion of San Jose’s recycling needs.
David Duong’s son, Andy Duong, is not listed on California Waste Solutions’ website as an executive-level employee, though federal prosecutors say he used to work for the company.
All four defendants face a charge each of conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and honest services mail fraud, along with two counts each of honest services wire fraud. “Honest services” charges differ from traditional charges in that they do not require proof of actual financial loss, but seek to prove abuse of a financial process, frequently as a way to prosecute government corruption.
In addition, Thao and Jones face one count each of soliciting or accepting a bribe. The Duongs also each face a count of offering or paying a bribe, while Andy Duong faces an additional count of making false statements.
If convicted, they could each face up to 20 years in prison on the most serious charges.
What are authorities alleging?
Federal prosecutors say the quartet — along with a longtime East Bay political operative Mario Juarez — orchestrated an elaborate scheme aimed at helping elevate Thao into the mayor’s office, while providing Jones with a lucrative no-show job. In exchange, the Duongs were promised a wealth of political and business favors, according to their indictments.
Specifically, the Duongs and Juarez agreed to finance a $75,000 campaign mailer targeting Thao’s political opponents in the weeks leading up to the 2022 mayoral election, prosecutors say. The Duongs and Juarez also agreed to provide Jones with a $300,000-a-year job — a salary that had the potential to grow to $3 million — from their fledgling housing company, Evolutionary Homes.
The housing company, founded by David Duong and Juarez, sought to to use repurposed shipping containers to house homeless families, and was critical to the alleged scheme, prosecutors say.
In exchange, the Duongs and Juarez received assurances from Thao that the city of Oakland would purchase as many as 300 of the company’s housing units, while also extending California Waste Solutions’ recycling contract for another decade, court records show. The deal also called for a “land deal” at the former Oakland Army Base — where plans for a CWS recycling plant had slowed to a crawl — while also giving the Duongs a say on numerous hires and appointments, including to the Port of Oakland’s board, and within the city’s public works, housing and administration offices.
What happened to the deal?
Thao won election shortly after the mailers arrived in thousands of Oaklanders’ mailboxes, and Jones subsequently received $95,000 as a part of the alleged deal, according to court records. Once in office, Thao directed her staff to promote Larry Gallegos to serve as interim deputy director of Oakland’s Department of Housing, with the goal of ensuring the city entered into a lucrative deal to purchase the housing units from the Duongs’ company, federal prosecutors allege.
But federal prosecutors say the alleged scheme collapsed amid infighting.
Friction emerged between Thao and the Duongs as the housing deal failed to materialize, according to emails and other documents made public. The Duongs then accused Juarez of bilking them out of their investment in Evolutionary Homes, leading to a bitter falling out between the two sides in early May 2024 outside the housing company’s offices.
What have Thao, Jones and the Duongs said?
All four defendants have pleaded not guilty, and have largely avoided speaking publicly about the allegations since being indicted in January 2025.
Even so, hints about their potential strategies at trial have emerged in recent weeks.
In a mid-September hearing, one of David Duong’s attorneys signaled a desire to hone in on Juarez’s credibility at trial. The attorney, Ed Swanson, argued for the ability to cross-examine Juarez about his past, including an alleged pattern of him going on the offensive against his perceived enemies. At one point, Swanson argued that “the jury needs to understand this is his pattern, because this is literally our defense.”
It’s a well-worn tactic: A year ago, the defendants sought to toss a trove of evidence in the case based off similar concerns of Juarez’s credibility. Prosecutors, however, countered they relied on mounds of texts, emails and other seized communications in building the foundation of their case, and Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers denied that motion.
Has anyone already been convicted?
Juarez previously pleaded guilty to engaging in a conspiracy to commit bribery and is expected to be called by prosecutors to testify as their star witness in the case. Further details — including when Juarez entered his plea — have not yet been made public, however, and his case does not appear in a publicly searchable federal database, suggesting it may have been sealed.
Federal prosecutors also secured a guilty plea from Bryan Azevedo, a former San Leandro city councilman accused of receiving a $2,000 bribe as part of Evolutionary Homes’ push to secure housing contracts elsewhere in the East Bay. He also is expected to testify for the prosecution, ahead of a Dec. 3 sentencing date on one count of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and one count of making a false statement to federal investigators. He has resigned from the City Council.
Who is expected to take the stand?
Multiple prominent East Bay politicians are expected to be called by prosecutors regarding their interactions with the defendants, including Oakland City Council President Kevin Jenkins and former Oakland city councilmember and current Alameda County supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas, court filings show.
A host of former city full-time and interim city administrators — including Jestin Johnson, Harold Duffey and Steven Falk — also are expected to testify, as is Betsy Lake, the city’s current interim city administrator. Likely joining them on the stand will be a host of former members of Thao’s mayoral and campaign staff.
Prosecutors also appear to have cast a wide net outside Oakland City Hall. Danny Wan, the Port of Oakland’s executive director, is expected to testify, as are numerous former employees of Evolutionary Homes, and at least one person who has worked for California Waste Solutions.
How else are prosecutors likely to make their case?
Prosecutors have telegraphed plans to introduce hundreds of exhibits, including reams of text messages, emails and recordings shared between the four co-defendants and Juarez. Many were found on devices owned by Andy Duong, a prolific social media user accused by Juarez of secretly recording politicians in compromising positions and saving that material for use against them at a later time, court records show.
That includes videos of Juarez toasting to the Duongs in 2022 while referencing myriad past bribes and payouts to local (but unnamed) politicians; details of how a Duong-led business association covered international travel expenses for Thao’s son and Jones’ daughter; and the revelation that Thao grew irate when she caught wind of allegations of drug use and activity involving prostitutes among some people on the trip.
What won’t jurors see in the trial?
Last month, Judge Gonzalez Rogers issued multiple rulings on what can and can’t be admitted as evidence or probed during cross-examination.
Thao and Jones succeeded in barring any mention of an alleged second fake job that Jones secured — this time, in 2021 through Thao’s sister as a means to secure a lease for their Oakland Hills house. And they likewise persuaded the judge to prohibit any mention of an alleged $5,000 payment by the Duongs in March 2023 to the Niagara Movement Foundation for a table at one of the organization’s dinners.
The judge also opted not to allow any recordings of Gallegos taken in February 2023, when Andy Duong captured recordings and pictures of him with scantily clad women at a karaoke bar. Gonzalez Rogers, however, said the recordings of Gallegos risked creating an unfair bias among the jury.
The judge also ruled that defense attorneys can’t argue the prosecution of their clients is politically motivated, nor that it was initiated to affect the outcome of Thao’s recall election in November 2024.
How long will the trial last?
Prosecutors plan to present their case through early to mid-November, after which the trial is expected to briefly pause ahead of the defense’s case.
Jakob Rodgers is a senior breaking news reporter. Call, text or send him an encrypted message via Signal at 510-390-2351, or email him at jrodgers@bayareanewsgroup.com.