Star witness in trial of former Oakland mayor asked about bank forgeries

Oakland businessman and FBI informant Mario Juarez told a jury he "committed bribery" and defrauded many people while working in Oakland politics and real estate.OAKLAND, Calif. (CN) — In his fourth day of testimony, a controversial Oakland businessman and political mover was faced with bank statements he is accused of doctoring, as part of the defense’s effort to paint him as an unreliable witness in a case implicating former Oakland mayor Sheng Thao and other local entrepreneurs in a bribery and corruption scheme.Prosecutors say Mario Juarez, along with father and son duo David and Andy Duong, attempted to get lucrative city contracts for their modular home business, Evolutionary Homes, along with an extension for the Duong’s waste management company, California Waste Solutions.Juarez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit a bribe in exchange for his cooperation with the prosecution and a more lenient sentence. But the Duongs and Thao, along with her romantic partner Andre Jones, are on trial over charges including conspiracy, bribery, fraud and making a false statement to a government official.All four defendants have pleaded not guilty. Thao faces a maximum sentence of 95 years in prison if convicted on all charges.At one point, Juarez told the jury, “we were all involved in crimes” while naming many members of the Duong family, not just David and Andy, with whom he fell out with in 2024.David Duong’s attorney, Edward Swanson, pointed out discrepancies between how much Juarez expensed the Duongs for several flights between Oakland and San Diego — the modular home construction facility was in Mexico — and how much the flights cost, according to Juarez’s bank statements subpoenaed directly from Chase Bank.Swanson showed the 16-person jury bank statements that he claimed showed Juarez tacked an extra $100 to each of the flights to match what he wrote his expense report. The Duongs paid Juarez based on the expense report and the statements showing the same amount.“You forged these documents, didn’t you?” asked Swanson.“I don’t recognize this document,” Juarez said. He admitted he “can see the issue with the amounts" when presented the statements directly from the bank.“Is it your testimony that someone else doctored your statements, your private bank statements?” asked Swason. Juarez said no, without saying anything else about the supposed forgeries.During his testimony, Chief U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers often told Juarez to “just answer the question.”“I don’t want to be here until Christmas,” the Barack Obama appointee said.Swanson also asked Juarez if he became an informant because he wanted to get back at the Duongs for the failure of Evolutionary Homes and after the purported bribes to Thao and Jones failed to materialize with real contracts.“You wanted to hurt them?” asked Swanson.“Hurting CWS is not the purpose,” answered Juarez, referring to California Waste Solutions.Swanson then showed a text message Juarez sent to Andreas Cluver, the vice president at the Port of Oakland, two days before meeting with prosecutors.The text read, “I need to fuck the Duongs.” The court gallery erupted in exasperated noises and chatter.U.S. Assistant Attorney Abraham Fine objected to the text as hearsay but was overruled by Rogers.On cross-examination, Shawn Halbert, Jones’ attorney, asked why, if Evolutionary Homes was so important to Juarez, would he immediately turn to bribing public officials to get it off the ground.Juarez’s earlier testimony included background about Evolutionary Homes and how it became a business co-founded by Andy Duong and Juarez in 2022. Juarez said he started the business and the concept and design of the container homes were his ideas, calling the model units his “babies.”“Did you think you could sell your product without fraud?” Halbert asked.“I failed my community and I failed myself,” said Juarez. “It ended up with fraud.”Halbert also asked Juarez repeatedly about the details of three attack mailers against mayoral candidates during Thao’s 2022 election.Juarez admitted he fraudulently filed an independent expenditure form to California’s Fair Political Practices Commission for the mailers in the amount of $110,000.At one point, Juarez also admitted that he talked to witnesses about their previous testimony regarding the mailers and read newspaper accounts of what was said during the trial, behavior against the rules of the court.The trial, and Juarez’s cross-examination, continues Tuesday.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads