Who are the Duongs, family charged in Sheng Thao’s indictment?
The Brief
Sheng Thao’s longtime boyfriend, Andre Jones, and David Duong and his son, Andy Duong, were charged in an indictment announced Friday.
The Duong Family owns Cal Waste Solutions, Oakland’s recycling company, which also provides junk pick-up in San Jose, and an integrated waste management facility in their native Vietnam.
According to the indictment, the illegal dealings began in October 2022, before the November Oakland mayoral election.
OAKLAND, Calif. – Former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao has been indicted by a federal grand jury on criminal charges related to an FBI bribery case, the Department of Justice announced Friday, six months after agents raided her home and two months after she was voted out of office.
Thao’s longtime boyfriend, Andre Jones, and David Duong and his son, Andy Duong, were also charged in the indictment.
U.S. Attorney Patrick D. Robbins said the defendants used bribes, mail fraud, wire fraud, and other illegal practices to manipulate and corruptly influence local government.
Robbins said the defendants knowingly entered into agreements “knowing that bribes would be offered and accepted by Thao and Jones in exchange for allowing the Duong’s to exercise illegal influence over the levers of city government.”
Who are the Duongs?
The backstory
The family owns Cal Waste Solutions, Oakland’s recycling company, which also provides junk pick-up in San Jose, and an integrated waste management facility in their native Vietnam.
According to the family’s company website, the Duong’s escaped the Vietnam War and settled in San Francisco, where they tout their humble beginnings. Sixteen members of their family lived in two studio apartments for a while, according to the family story.
David Duong, the eldest of the siblings, learned about recycling from his parents, who owned the largest paper mill in South Vietnam and he became the president and CEO of Cal Waste Solutions. Sister Kristina Duong became the CFO and brother Victor Duong became the vice president.
The Duongs say that they have established the “largest recycling company in Northern California,” employing 300 employees.
“For the Duong family, this venture is about more than business. It’s about giving back to the communities that have given so much to them – even the home they were forced to leave more than forty years ago,” the family states on its website.
Cal Waste Solutions
Timeline
In 2014, the Oakland City Council awarded California Waste Solutions a billion-dollar contract to run the city’s collection services, over Waste Management, a much larger company that had also bid for the job, The Oaklandside reported.
In 2017, the city of Oakland sued California Waste Solutions for allegedly overcharging some landlords of multi-unit buildings and making millions of dollars of additional profit. Oakland alleged that Cal Waste was charging 550% of what their contract allowed.
The company filed a countersuit against the city.
The parties agreed to a settlement in 2021 where California Waste Solutions would refund landlords over $6 million and reduce their monthly premium service rate.
The settlement required that Cal Waste refund approximately 2,000 multi-family building owners for those years of overcharging, and lower their rates for backyard service for recycling carts going forward.
“The settlement will make these Oakland ratepayers whole, remedying the harm they suffered for years as a result of CWS’ overcharging practices,” the city wrote in a news release on Dec. 10, 2021.
Cal Waste faced other issues with the city of Oakland, too.
2019 investigation
Dig deeper
In July 2019, the Oakland Public Ethics Commission launched an investigation into allegations that California Waste Solutions had been funneling illegal campaign contributions to at least five Oakland City Council candidates, including Thao, as well as city council candidates in El Cerrito and San Jose, from 2013 through 2018.
A month later, California’s campaign finance watchdog, the Fair Political Practices Commission, opened an investigation into Andy Duong related to laundered campaign contributions, state records show. That investigation is still not resolved, the Chronicle reported.
In July 2023, David Duong was named in a warning letter issued by the FPPC. The watchdog found that a committee he is associated with, Duong Family Investments LLC, failed to disclose itself as a major donor in 2018 and warned that it could face fines of $5,000 per violation in the future.
In records made public as part of a lawsuit, Public Ethics Commission investigators claimed that Andy and David Duong used “straw donors” to disguise the money they were giving to Oakland councilmembers, The Oaklandside reported.
A straw donor is someone who gives money to a campaign and is secretly reimbursed by the person who really is putting up the money.
Links to politicians
Despite their troubles, the Duongs know politicians at every level in the country.
Their social media accounts are a virtual who’s who of powerful politicians, which The Oaklandside first reported.
On Instagram, Andy Duong posted photos of himself with Thao, former District 6 City Councilmember Loren Taylor, and District 2 Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas.
Andy Duong also has selfies with Congresswoman Barbara Lee,State Senator Nancy Skinner, State Superintendent Tony Thurmond, former Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley, and Gov. Gavin Newsom. Duong has also been photographed with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
The Duongs have also taken many pictures with both California Attorney General Rob Bonta and his wife, State Assemblymember Mia Bonta.
In a March 27, 2021 post, Duong posted 10 pictures of himself with Rob Bonta at different events, including a Warriors basketball game, The Oaklandside first reported.
On Facebook, David Duong has shared photos of himself meeting with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Virginia Senator Tom Kaine, former Secretary of State John Kerry, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, and Missouri Senator Josh Hawley. Other photos show him with the governors of Montana, Maine, New Jersey, Virginia, Kentucky, Kansas, Arizona, New Hampshire, and New Mexico.
Connection to Sheng Thao
The Duongs are also connected to Thao, who went on a junket to Vietnam last summer through the Vietnamese American Business Association, which organized the trip. David and Victor Duong were the chair and co-chair of the group.
At the time, Thao said the purpose of the trip was to promote the Port of Oakland, which does significant business with markets in Asia, including Vietnam. Thao was accompanied by Oakland and Alameda County officials, including Supervisor Lena Tam and Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez, the Oaklandside reported.
In June 2024, FBI agents scoured the homes of David Duong and his son, Andy Duong – on Skyline Boulevard and Viewcrest Court – as well as the the Duong family company, Cal Waste Solution, at 1211 Embarcadero, along with Thao’s home on Maiden Lane.
Indictment
According to Friday’s indictment, the illegal dealings began in October 2022, before the November Oakland mayoral election. Before the election, Thao allegedly made promises that would benefit the Duong family if she were elected.
“Examples of promises allegedly made by Thao include her agreement to purchase housing units from a company owned by the Duong family, her agreement to ensure the extension of a contract for recycling services that the City of Oakland had with one of David and Andy Duong’s companies, and her agreement to use influence to help appoint a high-level city official to benefit the Duong’s business interests.,” U.S. Attorney Patrick D. Robbins said Friday.
Federal officials said that in exchange for Thao carrying out her commitments, the Duongs made payments to Thao and her boyfriend in various forms, including funding a negative mailer campaign targeting her political rivals. The Duong family also wired Thao and her boyfriend $95,000 disguised as wages for a no-show job for Jones.
Thao will be arraigned at the United States Courthouse in Oakland at 10:30 a.m. Following her arraignment, her attorney is expected to give a statement.
The Source
Previous KTVU reporting, indictment of Sheng Thao, Andy Duong and David Duong
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