Secret recordings detail alleged Oakland bribery deal

Jurors in federal court in Oakland heard about 45 minutes of secretly recorded conversations from meetings involving Evolutionary Homes, a company seeking contracts to market homeless housing made from repurposed shipping containers. Former employee Cecilia Mendez testified that she made the recordings on her cellphone during meetings in 2023 and early 2024 at California Waste Solutions, the recycling business run by the Duongs.

Prosecutors allege that company executives David and Andy Duong and business partner Mario Juarez sought to secure Oakland’s purchase of the homes by offering support to then-Mayor Sheng Thao and her partner, Andre Jones. The defendants have pleaded not guilty. Juarez admitted conspiring and has agreed to assist prosecutors.

In the recordings, Juarez and the Duongs complain that Thao had not fulfilled an alleged promise to help obtain a city contract. Juarez also describes Jones asking for another $20,000, and says Jones had not delivered on the deal. The men discuss Jones’s role at Evolutionary Homes, and Juarez says the company should list his name on a proposal to local governments.

Defense attorneys challenged Mendez’s credibility, questioning her relationship with Juarez and pointing to her criminal record. She acknowledged receiving immunity and having felony convictions for grand theft, identity theft and unlicensed real estate activity; the offenses were subsequently downgraded to misdemeanors. Proceedings remain underway in Oakland.

Secret audio puts alleged Oakland corruption deal in focus

The recordings put the alleged exchange at the center of the case: prosecutors say David and Andy Duong and Mario Juarez sought Oakland’s purchase of modular homes in return for support to then-Mayor Sheng Thao and her partner, Andre Jones. In court, jurors heard the men discuss Thao not following through on an alleged promise and Jones seeking additional money.

The audio came from meetings at California Waste Solutions in 2023 and early 2024. Cecilia Mendez, a former Evolutionary Homes employee, testified that she secretly recorded them. Juarez, who admitted conspiring and is assisting prosecutors, can be heard describing Jones’s role and discussing putting his name on a proposal to local governments.

The defendants have pleaded not guilty, and their attorneys attacked Mendez’s credibility, emphasizing her relationship with Juarez, her criminal convictions and the secret recordings. Her convictions for grand theft, identity theft and unlicensed real estate activity were subsequently downgraded to misdemeanors; she also testified that she received immunity. Those challenges are central to the defense, but the recordings give jurors the participants’ own discussions as they weigh the prosecution’s account. Proceedings remain underway in Oakland.

Defense credibility fight shadows Oakland trial recordings

The recordings are prosecution evidence, not a verdict. Cecilia Mendez testified that she secretly recorded meetings involving Evolutionary Homes, while defense attorneys questioned her reliability and pressed her about her relationship with cooperating witness Mario Juarez and her criminal history.

Mendez acknowledged felony convictions for grand theft, identity theft and unlicensed real estate activity, later reduced to misdemeanors. She also said she received immunity. The defense has argued that the government’s case depends on witnesses whose credibility should be scrutinized; Juarez admitted conspiring and is assisting prosecutors.

The audio captures Juarez and David and Andy Duong discussing an alleged promise by then-Mayor Sheng Thao to help secure an Oakland contract for modular homes, as well as Jones seeking more money and his place in a proposal to local governments. Prosecutors allege those conversations relate to a bribery scheme. Thao, Jones and the Duongs have pleaded not guilty. The jury must assess the recordings alongside testimony and the defense’s challenges, while proceedings continue in Oakland federal court.