Although the FBI has yet to say why it raided the homes of David Duong and Andy Duong—the owners of Oakland’s curbside recycling contractor California Waste Solutions—the investigation could be related to politics.
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Duong and his son Andy have been under investigation by state and city political regulators since 2019 for allegedly laundering political money. California’s Fair Political Practices Commission and the Oakland Public Ethics Commission allege that members of the Duong family illegally channeled large amounts of money into the campaign coffers of local politicians, using “straw donors” to hide the true source of these funds.
The FPPC and Oakland Public Ethics Commission have yet to complete their investigations, and it’s unclear what they’ll find or if they’ll ever officially charge the Duongs with any violations.
For decades, David Duong and his family have given increasingly large contributions to federal and state political candidates. In California, the Duongs have lavished the Democratic Party. Nationally, the family’s political spending has been more balanced, with the Republican Party and candidates like Donald Trump receiving big checks as well as Democrats.
David Duong has given over $2 million to federal political candidates
In 1988, David Duong wrote a $500 check to Leo T. McCarthy, California’s lieutenant governor, who was running for U.S. Senate. It was Duong’s first contribution to a candidate running for federal office. Over the next decade, Duong, whose CoGiDo recycling company operated in San Francisco at the time, would contribute small amounts to the campaign committees of Congressman Ron Dellums, Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, and Al Gore’s 2000 presidential run.
By the late 2000s, Duong’s political giving to candidates for federal office had grown to tens of thousands every year. Democrats were among the biggest beneficiaries. Duong gave $104,000 to the Obama Victory Fund, which the Center for Public Integrity described as a “joint fundraising organization” that provided cash to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee to support Obama in battleground states.
In more recent years, Duong’s political giving has shifted to the Republican Party. In 2020, he gave the Trump Victory political action committee over $250,000. Two years later he contributed $155,000 to a Republican PAC that was funding the campaigns of dozens of GOP candidates for the House of Representatives.
Andy Duong has contributed $30,000 to candidates for federal office since 2012, according to campaign finance data. He gave $10,000 to committees supporting Barack Obama and has provided $7,200 to Congressman Eric Swalwell’s campaigns over the past decade.
In California, the Duongs have focused money on Democrats
The Duongs have given thousands to some of California’s top Democrats. Among them is Attorney General Rob Bonta, who represented Oakland, Alameda, and San Leandro in the state assembly from 2012 to 2021 before becoming the state’s top law enforcement officer. Bonta received thousands from David and Andy Duong in 2021, but his campaign committee appears to have returned most of the money. However, last year, Bonta took $6,100 from Andy Duong and $18,200 from David Duong for his 2026 reelection campaign, according to campaign finance records.
Dozens of other candidates for state assembly, state senate, and governor benefited from the Duongs’ giving, including former Gov. Jerry Brown, whose 2010 campaign got $10,000 from David Duong, and Kamala Harris, who got $11,500 for her 2010 campaign for attorney general. Combined, David and Andy Duong spent approximately $200,000 on state political campaigns.
California Waste Solutions and the Duongs have also sponsored numerous events and held celebrations where they’ve feted powerful politicians. For example, the Vietnamese American Business Association, an organization run by the Duongs, held a gala celebration in Milpitas last year. A poster for the event advertised guests such as California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao.
The Duongs have also collected and posted numerous photographs of themselves with political leaders, from President Joseph Biden to members of the Oakland City Council.
