{"id":509708,"date":"2026-10-27T17:32:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T17:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/509708\/"},"modified":"2026-10-27T17:32:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T17:32:13","slug":"oakland-corruption-trial-fbi-agent-testimony-stretches-into-fifth-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/509708\/","title":{"rendered":"Oakland Corruption Trial: FBI Agent Testimony Stretches Into Fifth Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the course of four days in the federal corruption trial of former Oakland<\/a> Mayor Sheng Thao, an FBI agent\u2019s testimony has allowed the court to admit thousands of pages of private texts, digital files and audio recordings.<\/p>\n

Special FBI Agent Katherine Barclay will continue that testimony Tuesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thao, her longtime romantic partner Andre Jones, recycling executive David Duong and his son Andy Duong face bribery, conspiracy and fraud charges, for allegedly promising to trade campaign support for Thao\u2019s mayoral campaign, and a $300,000 bribe for favorable treatment for the Duongs\u2019 businesses and interests.\u00a0<\/p>\n

All four have pleaded not guilty.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what Barclay\u2019s hours of testimony and cross examination have revealed so far about the alleged quid pro quo:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nAndy Duong\u2019s secret recordings enter the courtroom\n<\/p>\n

Last week, Barclay identified the voices in a series of phone calls<\/a> Andy Duong recorded with Thao, Oakland Councilmember Kevin Jenkins, Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas and others \u2014 many of which were seemingly recorded without their knowledge.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jenkins previously told KQED it would be inappropriate for him to comment on the call because he is a government witness. Bas is also expected to testify later in the trial. Neither politician has been accused of wrongdoing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In one phone conversation between Thao and Andy Duong in April 2019, made public in court filings last month<\/a>, Thao reported to Andy about a confidential conversation the Oakland City Council had regarding a legal dispute with his family\u2019s recycling company, California Waste Solutions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Andy Duong exits the U.S. District Court in Oakland, California, on Jan. 17, 2025. Sheng Thao, the former mayor of Oakland, was criminally indicted by a federal grand jury after an FBI corruption investigation that centered on City Hall and the powerful Duong family that operates the city\u2019s curbside recycling program, a source familiar with the matter told the Chronicle.\u00a0(Santiago Mejia\/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

In 2017, Oakland sued the company for allegedly overcharging rate payers. The recycling vendor countersued, alleging Oakland breached its contract, and the parties settled in 2021 with California Waste Solutions agreeing to pay ratepayers $6 million<\/a> in alleged overcharges. The city of Oakland paid the company nearly $2 million, and released it from agreements the company\u00a0 made to pay for waste studies and community outreach totalling about $1.5 million.<\/p>\n

During that litigation, in 2019, Thao told Andy Duong that multiple council members had questions about a potential refund his family\u2019s company could have been required to give ratepayers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thao, who was then a first-term city councilmember, advised Andy Duong on how to prepare for a meeting the following day: \u201cThis is what you guys need to do, OK? You guys need to prepare and talk amongst yourselves and how to figure out how to do this\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao speaks during a rally against her recall at Pacific Renaissance Plaza in Oakland on Oct. 15, 2024.<\/p>\n

Thao goes on to say that she, Andy Duong, and others attending the meeting, who aren\u2019t explicitly named, should meet in a private place for lunch, \u201cbecause we don\u2019t really want to be seen with you guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

In another call from September 2023, Thao tells Andy Duong that he and his business partners will have to \u201cpick and choose\u201d between her support and that of two council members at the time, Janani Ramachandran and Treva Reid.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not fucking with those bitches, they don\u2019t do me any favors at all,\u201d Thao can be heard saying on the call.<\/p>\n

\nAndre Jones\u2019 Evolutionary Homes Job wasn\u2019t on his computer\n<\/p>\n

Prosecutors asked Barclay about a number of devices that the FBI confiscated during a series of early morning raids on June 20, 2024, which included the home Thao and Jones shared, both David and Andy Duong\u2019s homes, and the waterfront offices of California Waste Solutions.<\/p>\n

One of the pieces of evidence was Jones\u2019 laptop. On it, Barclay said, investigators found no references to Evolutionary Homes \u2014 a housing startup Andy Duong founded with Mario Juarez, a co-conspirator turned informant in the alleged scheme \u2014 where Jones purported to work as a government relations specialist.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jones\u2019 attorney spent time during his opening statement pointing to Evolutionary Homes presentations that list him as an employee, as well as a note that indicates he was going to get business cards made by the company.<\/p>\n

Investigators did find evidence on Jones\u2019 computer that he worked for another company, called Kearns and West, a national communications firm.<\/p>\n

\nThao and Jones financial struggles come to light\n<\/p>\n

Barclay\u2019s testimony also admitted a number of text exchanges between Thao and Jones regarding their bills.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over the course of at least two years when they lived together, Thao sent messages to Jones multiple times reminding him to pay rent. At one point, their landlord told them that, after several months when Jones didn\u2019t pay his portion of the rent on time, the couple would need to provide a cashier\u2019s check, instead of using online deposits.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Throughout the trial, prosecutors have raised questions about Jones\u2019 financial status. In 2021 and 2022 Jones and Thao split rent payments, or Thao paid them in their entirety. But beginning in January 2023, when Jones began receiving payments from Evolutionary Homes, he began to cover the the couple\u2019s monthly rent payments.<\/p>\n

\"\"Andre Jones, longtime partner of former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and a co-defendant in her federal corruption trial, enters the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Oakland on Oct. 14, 2026.\u00a0(Beth LaBerge\/KQED)<\/p>\n

In April 2022, Thao texted Jones: \u201cI don\u2019t have enough to cover rent by myself this month. Your mom hasn\u2019t pitched in on any bills either.\u201d<\/p>\n

At another point, Thao texted Jones that PG&E wanted $6,000 to turn their power back on, and in another from November 2023, she said: \u201cPlease don\u2019t turn on heater, please turn off lights and electricity. The bill this month is 3000 I cannot pay that.\u201d<\/p>\n

In January 2024, Thao wrote to Jones: \u201cPlease figure out how we pay rent this month asap,\u201d to which he responded, \u201cYeah I\u2019ll take care of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prosecutors said Jones deposited a check from Juarez that same day, seeming to insinuate that he used the money to benefit both him and Thao.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But on Monday, Thao\u2019s attorney Jeffrey Tsai tried to cast doubt on that allegation, asking Barclay: \u201cThe word \u2018how\u2019 refers to payment method, doesn\u2019t it?\u201d She said she did not know.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jones\u2019 attorney may take a similar route. During his opening statement, defense attorney Mark Goldrosen suggested that \u201cIt wasn\u2019t that [Jones] didn\u2019t have enough money, he just wasn\u2019t paying attention\u201d and would forget to transfer enough funds to his accounts linked to their bills.<\/p>\n

\nBarclay says Juarez accused others of bribes\n<\/p>\n

On Monday, Barclay told the court that in a series of interviews, Juarez alleged \u201cthat other local politicians had taken bribes.\u201d Tsai then went on to ask her if the government had interviewed a number of current and former Oakland, Berkeley and San Leandro elected officials. She said it had not, except in one case; that politician declined to be interviewed.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

KQED is not naming the elected officials, because the claims have not been substantiated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Jeffrey Tsai (left), attorney for former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao (second from right), gives his opening statements in the federal corruption trial of Thao and co-defendants Andre Jones, Andy Duong and David Duong, at the U.S. Courthouse in Oakland on Oct. 14, 2026. \u00a0(Vicki Behringer for KQED)<\/p>\n

Defense attorneys have repeatedly attempted to discredit Juarez\u2019s allegations to cast further doubt on Juarez as a witness. He\u2019s been called a \u201cconsummate hustler\u201d with a \u201cdecades-long history\u201d of fraudulent behavior.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Tsai will continue cross examining Barclay, and attorneys for Jones, David Duong and Andy Duong will also have their chance to cast doubt on what the government believes the admitted evidence proves. Then, another FBI agent and Mendez are slated to testify.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Over the course of four days in the federal corruption trial of former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":509709,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[143,145,144],"class_list":["post-509708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=509708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509708\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/509709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=509708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=509708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=509708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}