FBI searches US mayor's house with ties to Vietnamese businessman

Agents served a search warrant on Thao's home on Maiden Lane in the Lincoln Highlands neighborhood of Oakland, California, at around 5:30 a.m. local time.

FBI agents carry away boxes of items on June 20. Photo: KQED

In an emailed statement to CBS News, the FBI said it was conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity at Maiden Lane and could not provide further information at this time.

After 10 a.m. (local time) on June 20, several FBI agents walked out of Ms. Thao’s house carrying several boxes. It is unclear what the agents were looking for or what documents were confiscated.

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao. Photo: Oaklandside

Federal agents also served search warrants at a nearby home in the Ridgemont neighborhood and the Embarcadero offices of the Vietnamese American Business Association (VABA) and California Waste Solutions.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that another search was also conducted at the home of VABA President David Duong, who is also the CEO of California Waste Solutions.

The owner of the home is believed to be Andrew Duong, son of David Duong. Several members of Duong’s family are on the executive teams of both VABA and California Waste Solutions.

FBI agents and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) criminal investigation agents removed about 20 boxes of documents, many of which were marked with the name "Andy Duong."

California Waste Solutions has previously been investigated for campaign contributions to Oakland City officials, including Thao when she was a city councilwoman, according to Oaklandside. A company employee who identified herself as Teresa Hoang said the company is cooperating with authorities and is confident the government will find no illegal activity.

Andy Duong has more than 100,000 followers on Instagram, including photos with President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and California Governor Gavin Newsom.

Ms. Hoang said Mr. Duong's family had "experienced a lot of injustice over the past 30 years" and believed they had done nothing wrong.

"This is not the first time we have faced something like this. We have always been clean. Officials now know more than anyone about this investigation," Ms. Hoang said.

The raids came two days after the Alameda County Registrar of Voters announced it had collected enough signatures on a petition to recall Thao.

Recall supporters blame the mayor for not doing enough to fight crime, which has forced many businesses to close in the city.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/fbi-kham-xet-nha-thi-truong-my-co-lien-he-doanh-nhan-goc-viet-196240621113148078.htm