The defendants appeared before a U.S. magistrate in the federal courthouse in Oakland on Friday. Thao pleaded not guilty to six counts of bribery, mail fraud and wire fraud. If she's convicted, she faces 95 years in federal prison.
The indictment comes about six months after a well-publicized FBI raid of the home Thao and Jones share in the Oakland hills and about two months after Oakland voters removed her from office in a recall election.
The alleged scheme started around October 2022, prior to the November election Thao narrowly won that year, and involved a $95,000 payment from the Duongs to Thao and Jones.
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In exchange, Thao allegedly agreed to buy "housing units" from a Duong-owned company, extend a city recycling contract for their company and appoint a high-level city official to benefit the Duongs' business interests.
In addition to the $95,000, the Duongs also allegedly bribed Thao with the financing of a negative campaign mailer targeting her political foes in the lead up to the 2022 election.
Attorneys for Thao and Jones didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Attorneys Ed Swanson and August Gugelmann, representing David Duong, released the following statement Friday:
"Mr. Duong denies wrongdoing and will vigorously defend these allegations in court. He looks forward to prevailing in this case and continuing his decades of service, philanthropy, and devotion to our community and the Bay Area."/-
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