Who is Andre Jones, tied in FBI bribery scheme with Sheng Thao?
OAKLAND, Calif. - Andre Jones, the longtime boyfriend of former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, was indicted in a federal bribery scheme tied to Thao's political ascension.
Jones, Thao, and local businessmen David Duong and his son Andy Duong all face criminal charges in the bribery scheme uncovered by the FBI. These charges include bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, conspiracy, and mail and wire fraud.
Who is Andre Jones?
What we know:
Jones and Thao have been in a romantic relationship for 10 years and lived together in Oakland.
The two met when he was chief of staff for Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan, where Thao also worked.
After that, he became the assistant chief for the State Bureau of Cannabis Control.
In June, after the FBI raided Thao's home and the offices of California Waste Solutions, the recycling company owned by the Duong family, Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker was subpoenaed and ordered to hand over documents and communications related to Jones
Federal agents also requested documents related to the 2022 Oakland mayoral election and all calendar entries involving Thao and Jones from June 1, 2022, to the present.
The indictment
Dig deeper:
The indictment was filed against the four defendants on Jan. 9 and unsealed on Friday.
According to the indictment, in the weeks leading up to the November 2022 mayoral election and during her tenure, Thao made several promises, using her political power as leverage, to the Duongs.
In exchange, the Duongs would pay Thao and Jones, or fund her campaign efforts.
The indictment described how Thao promised that the city of Oakland would purchase housing units from the Duongs' housing company, extend the city's recycling contract with them, and appoint city officials they wanted.
As compensation, the Duongs funded a $75,000 negative mailer campaign aimed at Thao's political opponents in the mayoral race and made a $95,000 payment to Jones for a no-show job with the housing company. That was all a guise. The Duongs promised to send more money.
Authorities said once Thao was in office, she helped appoint a high-level city official selected by the Duongs and instructed members of her staff to meet with and tour the Duongs' housing company.
Financial records obtained by investigators showed that before the bribery scheme, Thao either paid most of the rent at her and Jones' shared residence or footed the entire bill. However, in January 2023, after Jones started receiving payments from the Duongs, he began paying all the rent, investigators said. He also started paying the majority of the shared bills, including utility and phone bills.
Authorities said it was under Thao's direction that the bribe payments be sent to Jones to avoid a paper trail to Thao. The defendants misrepresented that Jones worked with the Duongs' housing company to cover up the scheme, and they also created false invoices for the bribe payments from the Duongs' recycling company.
The Source: Information for this story comes from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California, along with previous reporting.