Some eight months after having her house raided by federal agents and two months after being ousted from her office in Oakland in a recall election, Sheng Thao has been officially indicted on federal charges, along with her partner Andre Jones and two local businessmen, David Trung Duong and Andy Hung Duong. She and the other defendants are officially charged with two counts of bribery and four counts of charges associated with mail and wire fraud. Andy Duong is also charged with an additional count of making false statements to government agents. Andy and David Duong own the waste company California Waste Systems. Thao is accused of extending favors to them in exchange for campaign help.
All four defendants have pleaded not guilty and were released after posting bond. Travel restrictions were included although David Duong was allowed to fly to Washington DC for President Trump’s inauguration. Thao is not allowed to contact the Duong family.
It’s sad to see what was a Cinderella story of a former homeless single mother moving up in life end up as a crime story. You can see the official indictment here.
