On June 20, the FBI raided the homes of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and David and Andy Duong, owners of California Waste Solutions, the city’s curbside recycling contractor.
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While we do not know the reason for the raids, the connection between Oakland’s embattled mayor and the Duongs—a family that has been under investigation for years for suspected campaign finance violations—has led to a torrent of speculation and investigative reporting.
As the investigators continue their work, several major facts about these figures have surfaced in the days since the raid, providing residents with hints as to what this might all be about.
To help the public understand and keep track of this story, we’ve compiled a brief timeline of known and notable related events. While the history of the Duongs and California Waste Solutions in Oakland begins earlier, we’re starting in 2012, when the company landed its first big contract with the city.
We’ll keep updating this timeline as more information becomes available.
2012-2014
Two companies, Waste Management and California Waste Solutions, compete for Oakland’s massive Zero Waste contract, a billion-dollar deal to handle the city’s garbage and recycling needs.
At first, the City Council awards the trash and recycling contract to CWS, which was the lowest bidder. Waste Management is outraged and files a lawsuit against Oakland, accusing the city of awarding the contract to CWS because the company’s owners—David Duong and his family—have “personal and political connections” to Oakland’s leaders. The Duongs are prolific contributors to local campaigns.
Waste Management also highlights what city staff said about CWS: The company is too small and inexperienced for such a big job.
Ultimately, the council settles on a compromise, awarding Waste Management the trash and compost contracts and CWS the recycling contract.
2016
Dozens of people and several businesses allegedly connected to the Duongs contribute thousands of dollars to candidates for Oakland City Council, including Larry Reid, Dan Kalb, Rebecca Kaplan, Desley Brooks, and Viola Gonzalez.
District 3 Councilmember Lynette McElhaney, whom the Public Ethics Commission charged with illegally interfering with the development of a five-unit residential building next to her home, sets up a legal defense fund to pay her legal fees.
According to the Public Ethics Commission, McElhaney’s defense fund receives a $5,000 payment from ARDA LLC, a company that then ran a karaoke bar in Oakland Chinatown, to help pay her attorneys.
2017
The city of Oakland files a lawsuit against CWS, accusing the company of overcharging apartment building landlords and claiming CWS unlawfully profited by millions of dollars.
CWS counters with its own lawsuit the next year, arguing the rates were correctly specified in the original contracts.
More people allegedly connected to the Duongs make suspect campaign contributions to Abel Guillen and Desley Brooks.
2018
In July, four agents from the State Department of Alcohol Beverage Control make an undercover visit to Music Cafe in Chinatown.
Three months later, the ABC agents, with the help of the Oakland police, raid Music Cafe, arrest several people, and seize drugs and cash. The cafe is later shut down for drugs and prostitution.
According to court documents, Andy Duong had represented himself to several people as the owner of the karaoke bar.
One of the bar’s managers, Charlie Ngo, was a suspected “straw donor” allegedly employed by Andy Duong to channel money to Oakland politicians.
Also in July, the Oakland City Council votes to enter into an exclusive negotiating agreement with California Waste Solutions to sell the company up to 14 acres of property at the old Army Base in West Oakland. CWS wants to build a new recycling center on the land. Negotiations with the company will go on for years.
Around the same time, Andy Duong allegedly lines up straw donor contributions to Oakland councilmembers who would decide on the deal. Desley Brooks, Abel Guillen, Sheng Thao, and Rebecca Kaplan received thousands.
2019
March
An anonymous tip to the Public Ethics Commission claims the Duong family has been laundering political contributions to councilmembers for years.
July and August
California’s Fair Political Practices Commission and the Oakland Public Ethics Commission launch investigations into the Duong family.
The cases will remain out of the public eye for years to come, partly because many of the alleged straw donors and other witnesses refuse to cooperate and ignore requests for interviews as well as subpoenas seeking banking records and communications.
Court records reviewed by The Oaklandside revealed that investigators identified $51,000 in suspicious contributions made between 2013 and 2018 involving individuals and multiple businesses connected to the Duong family. These contributions were allegedly used to support the campaigns of councilmembers including Lynette Gibson McElhaney, Sheng Thao, Rebecca Kaplan, Larry Reid, and Dan Kalb.
November
Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker begins filing lawsuits against some of the alleged straw donors and witnesses who have refused to cooperate.
In some cases, the lawsuits drag on for a year or more, but eventually, people start talking.
2020
David Duong shifts his political giving toward the Republican Party, contributing over $250,000 to the Trump Victory political action committee. It’s his biggest single donation on record to a political campaign. However, Duong family members continue making political contributions to Democrats, especially candidates running for state office in California.
2021
Oakland and CWS settle their lawsuits about overcharges. CWS refunds 1,340 building owners and lowers recycling rate charges. CWS does not admit to any wrongdoing.
“The settlement will make these Oakland ratepayers whole, remedying the harm they suffered for years as a result of CWS’ overcharging practices,” says the city in a statement at the time.
2022
September
David Duong’s sister Kristina Duong and Mario Juarez incorporate a company called Evolutionary Homes. According to the company’s website and promotional videos, Evolutionary Homes was angling for government contracts to create shelters for homeless people.
Juarez’s name disappears from the corporate documents filed by the company in January 2024, while David Duong is listed as its CEO.
October
In the heat of a contentious election, Oakland businessman Mario Juarez pays for over $100,000 in campaign mailers attacking mayoral candidates Loren Taylor and Ignacio De La Fuente. Juarez also sets up websites critical of the candidates. The materials appear to have artificially darkened Loren Taylor’s skin tone in a move that is widely decried as racist fearmongering.
November
In a ranked-choice runoff, Sheng Thao wins the Oakland mayoral election over Loren Taylor. Thao’s margin of victory is a mere 677 votes.
2023
July
The state Fair Political Practices Commission sends a warning letter to Duong Family Investments LLC, a company established by David Duong in 2001. According to the FPPC, Duong Family Investments failed to file campaign finance records for the 2018 election ahead of mandatory deadlines.
That year, the company was considered a “major donor committee” by state political regulators because of the large amounts of money it was giving to people running for state offices, including Janet Nguyen, Dave Cortese, and Ash Kalra, all state senate candidates from San Jose.
Years earlier, in 2006 and 2009, Duong Family Investment contributed to Leland Yee’s state senate campaigns. (In 2024, the company provided $25,000 to Take Back California, a committee that has supported a range of politicians and other causes.)
July and August
Mayor Thao travels to Vietnam on her first official international trip. David and Andy Duong are part of the more than 50-person group that accompanies the mayor and other local politicians.
They visit with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and attend a factory of the electrical vehicle company Vinfast, among other events.
The trip is sponsored by the Bay Area Council and the Vietnamese American Business Association, a group founded by the Duong family and headquartered in Oakland.
December
Juarez is interviewed for a video about Evolutionary Homes, the company he cofounded with David and Kristina Duong.
The video was produced by the Vietnamese American Business Association in 2024.
2024
January
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price charges Juarez with felony fraud for allegedly passing bad checks to pay for the political attack ads against Loren Taylor and Ignacio De La Fuente.
Critics of Mayor Thao announce the launch of a campaign to remove her from office, saying that her decision to fire former police chief LeRonne Armstrong created a public safety crisis in Oakland.
May
Mario Juarez claims he was assaulted on May 3 at the 1211 Embarcadero offices of California Waste Solutions. He suffered “serious” injuries, according to his attorney, Ernie Castillo.
Police records confirm that an incident happened at the recycling company’s address that day, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
June 9, 2024
Oakland police respond to a shooting outside of Juarez’s home on the 1800 block of Fruitvale Avenue. No one is injured, but Juarez’s attorney says it’s the second time his client’s life was threatened.
“He was ambushed—severely beaten on one occasion and on another he was met with gunfire when he arrived to his home,” Castillo told the Chronicle and East Bay Times.
June 18, 2024
Oakland City Clerk Asha Reed confirms to The Oaklandside that the campaign to remove Mayor Thao from office received enough signatures to be placed on the ballot in November 2024. Four days earlier, on June 14, Alameda County Registrar of Voters Tim Dupuis completed the verification of the petitions.
June 20, 2024
The FBI and United States Postal Service investigators conduct surprise raids on California Waste Solutions’ office, Mayor Thao’s home, and the residences of CWS owners David Duong and Andy Duong.
Agents carry boxes of material out of each location. The FBI declines to comment about why it searched these locations.
June 21, 2024
Tony Brass, a former San Francisco prosecutor and assistant United States attorney, says he will represent Mayor Thao in the FBI investigation. He tells the media he hasn’t seen any evidence that Thao was the target of the FBI searches.
June 24, 2024
Four days after the raids, Mayor Thao delivers a defiant speech at Oakland City Hall asserting her innocence and questioning the timing of the FBI searches. Thao, who had faced criticism for being absent while the city was dealing with the Juneteenth mass shooting at Lake Merritt, addresses the tragedy for the first time.
Later in the day, Thao’s attorney, Brass, says he was surprised by the press conference and announces he is no longer representing Thao. Thao’s team says the decision to split was mutual.
June 28, 2024
Mayor Thao hires Jeffrey Tsai as her attorney. A partner at DLA Piper, Tsai “defends white-collar matters in investigations and trials, including representations involving trade secret theft and economic espionage, complex frauds, and public corruption,” according to the firm’s website. He was a former adviser to Kamala Harris during her tenure as California attorney general.
