Home US Former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao faces charges in FBI corruption probe, just months after being recalled amid rising crime

Former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao faces charges in FBI corruption probe, just months after being recalled amid rising crime

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Awoken former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao has been criminally charged in an FBI corruption investigation

Awoken former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao has been criminally charged in an FBI corruption investigation, just months after she was recalled from office due to rising crime in the city.

Thao was at the center of an FBI corruption investigation that focused on the city’s relationships with a powerful family that runs the city’s curbside recycling program. according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

It is unclear what exactly Thao is accused of, but the indictment indicates that grand jurors who heard evidence in a federal court in San Francisco were convinced by prosecutors that there was enough evidence to bring Thao to trial.

Others also faced criminal charges in the indictment, a source familiar with the matter told the Chronicle.

The charges come just over six months after FBI agents spotted Thao’s home raided.

Officers were also seen conducting searches at two homes owned by members of the politically influential Duong family that owns recycling company Cal Waste Solutions.

The company has come under investigation for campaign contributions to Thao and other elected city officials, the local news outlet Oaklandside reported in 2020.

One of the properties is owned by Andy Duong and the other is connected to David and Linda Duong.

Awoken former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao has been criminally charged in an FBI corruption investigation

Last year, the family also organized a trade delegation trip to Vietnam with Thao.

As part of the raid, federal agents seized a phone belonging to her and her partner Andre Jones, as well as the then-mayor’s cellphone and her personal computer.

Within five days, a federal grand jury also issued a subpoena to the Bay Area city, demanding that it turn over all “documents and communications relating to Andre Jones.”

Documents were also requested relating to Evolutionary Homes, a container home building venture involving the Duongs and Mario Juarez – who is now accused of breaking the law while trying to help Thao win the 2022 mayoral election , the Chronicle said.

Additionally, the grand jury requested any “calendar notes or records” of meetings in which either had been present since June 2022 – five months before Thao was even elected.

Jones had previously been publicly accused of corruption by Thao’s ex-chief of staff, Renia Webb, who provided no details at the time.

Yet Thao repeatedly claimed she was not the target of the investigation and denied any wrongdoing.

In an interview with the Chronicle weeks before the November recall, Thao even demanded that the FBI tell the public that she was not the target of the investigation.

The charges come just over six months after FBI agents spotted Thao's home raided

The charges come just over six months after FBI agents spotted Thao’s home raided

She repeatedly claimed that she was not the target of the raid

She repeatedly claimed that she was not the target of the raid

“When they came to my house about 6 o’clock in the morning, they came in with long guns, they came in with Glocks, they came in with the battering ram, ready to break down the doors of a sitting mayor’s house,” said them.

“It was just a total overstep,” she insisted. ‘I’m innocent. The FBI agents have told my attorney that I am not the target of the investigation.”

This is a current news item and will be updated.

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