Ousted Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao indicted by federal grand jury following FBI corruption probe

The official charges against the former mayor have not yet been announced, but come after her home was raided by the FBI in June 2024 as part of a corruption probe. Thao was recently recalled in the November election.

The FBI conducted a raid at Thao's home and three properties that were associated with members of the Duong family, who were awarded a curbside recycling contract by the city of Oakland. The raids occurred last June, and federal agents seized phones belonging to Thao and her boyfriend, Andre Jones.

Days after the raids, a federal grand jury subpoenaed all "documents and communications related to Andre Jones" and "calendar entries or records" of meetings involving Thao or Jones dating back to June 2022.

The subpoena sought documents concerning the Oakland Army Base and Evolutionary Homes, a project to construct container homes that involved the Duongs and Mario Juarez, a man who is accused of violating the law in an attempt to assist Thao in winning the 2022 election, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Additionally, Oakland's Public Ethics Commission has been conducting an inquiry into the Duong family. They have been accused of using straw donors to provide financial support to Thao and other politicians.

The city of Oakland released hundreds of documents in November, revealing that Evolutionary Homes representatives lobbied for $90 million in city funding to construct 300 tiny homes using shipping containers. Thao directly supported the venture, as evidenced by emails. On September 7, 2022, Evolutionary Homes was established in California. Juarez was listed as the organizer and a member of the Duong family as its agent. However, the company fell through.

Records indicate that Juarez established and exclusively funded an independent expenditure campaign during Thao's 2022 mayoral campaign. This campaign spent over $100,000 on leaflets that targeted Thao's opponents. Earlier this year, he entered a not-guilty plea to a charge that he had disbursed over $50,000 in fraudulent checks that were intended to cover the postage costs of the leaflets, the outlet reported.

The ousted mayor has maintained her innocence since the FBI home raid.

"When they came to my house at about 6 am, they came in with long guns, they came with Glocks, they came with the battering ram ready to break down the doors, into a sitting mayor's house," Thao said at the time. "It was just complete overreach. I am innocent."