Oakland, California (Crohn)-on the day that Shang tho the constitutional oath in Auckland, the new mayor of Auckland in January 2023, was surrounded by her family, her supporters, city officials, and friend André Jones. Jones, who was standing on her right, was all smiling while listening to the victory speech, photographs from the ceremony.
Jones did not occupied a job title in the Auckland city government during his girlfriend. But behind the scenes, Jones’s influence on Thao, and the alleged “non -presence” function with the Dong family, was important enough for the Federal Grand jury to accuse him of fraud and conspiracy charges.
Thousands of documents containing communications via e -mail were issued between employees at the mayor’s office recently and announced by Auckland. The city was ordered to gather and deliver documents to the FBI agents and the US Prosecutor’s Office during the investigation of Thao, Jones, and two Dowong family members.
Investigators asked a mountain of documents from the city, including all contacts and meetings that involve Jones during the THAO period in the office.
Federal investigators said businessmen David Douong and Andy Dung paid money “disguised as wages for a job not attending.” The indictment states that Andy Dong and the co -listener “agreed to produce and finance a negative campaign for e -mail targeting Thao’s opponents in the 2022 mayor elections”, and promised to pay $ 300,000 from Jones in wages for a false job.
The newly released city documents show a friend of Thao with the Chief of Staff of the Mayor, Renia Webb. Web wrote in an email in 2023 after her resignation from her website.
Patrick de Robbins, an American lawyer in the northern region of California, said that thorned its powers as mayor to enrich herself and Jones.
Investigators accused Jones of using money from his “job” not attending “to pay the price of the Oakland rental house where he lived with Thao. The raid on the couple’s house on Miden Lin by FBI agents in June 2024. On the morning of the raid, Jones was seen stopping at the house and in the Auckland city hall.
The new documents include a formal biography of Thao that was sent from the CEO of the mayor of the AAPI leadership in 2024. Details of the CV that arose the life of Thao in poverty, raising her son as a single mother, and going out in her career as a political leader, and achievements in the city council. Jones, her boyfriend for a long time, was not mentioned in the CV.
Jones Thao was accompanied on special occasions and trips, including a trip to Vietnam, which was hosted by the Gulf Region Council and the American Vietnamese Business Association. The new documents include an official invitation written by Thao by David Duong, President of VABA. The purpose of the trip was to “develop the commercial relationship between California and Vietnam.”
Thao, Jones, and Dongz acknowledged that he was not guilty of fraud, bribery and conspiracy.
While Jones has never received a job in the city hall under Thao, the new documents are separated in the official inner circle of Thao. In an email in December 2022, Thaau stated that she rented Lee Hanson as a senior consultant with an annual salary of $ 200,000. Hanson was later promoted to the Chief of Staff by Thao. On Monday, Hanson was expelled from her job after one of the newly released documents showed that it referred to blacks as “symbols”.
Oakland mayor Kevin Jenkins announced on Monday that most of the mayors’ office employees will be released from their positions on April 11.