Witness Returns in Sheng Thao Trial as Ex-FBI Agent Pleads Guilty

Key Witness Mario Juarez Returns to Stand in Former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao's Trial

The federal government's central witness in the public corruption prosecution of former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao is scheduled to return to the witness stand on Monday for further cross-examination after defense attorneys spent hours Friday challenging his credibility, according to NBC Bay Area.

Federal prosecutors allege that businessman Mario Juarez and California Waste Solutions owners David Duong and Andy Duong conspired with Thao and her longtime partner, Andre Jones, to back Thao's mayoral campaign in exchange for cash payments, political appointments, and municipal business contracts. Juarez previously agreed to plead guilty to a federal conspiracy charge and testify for the prosecution in hopes of receiving a reduced sentence.

During Friday's court session, defense counsel representing David Duong questioned Juarez for hours regarding the terms of his plea agreement and allegations of prior theft and dishonest business practices. While Juarez disputed portions of the defense characterization, he told the jury directly from the witness stand, "I bribed Mayor Sheng Thao. We all committed bribery."

Former FBI Supervisory Special Agent Pleads Guilty to $2.47 Million Crypto Theft

In a separate federal public-integrity prosecution, 37-year-old former FBI supervisory special agent Patrick Steven Yaroch pleaded guilty on Thursday to wire fraud and money laundering charges after siphoning nearly $2.5 million in cryptocurrency from wallets tied to ongoing federal probes, BleepingComputer reported.

According to Justice Department court filings, Yaroch served on a national security investigative squad in the FBI Boston Division from 2017 to 2025 before working as a supervisory special agent in the FBI Headquarters Counterintelligence and Espionage Division between February 2025 and July 2026. Prosecutors stated that Yaroch extracted wallet passphrases stored in FBI case management systems and investigative data-sharing platforms to execute approximately 100 unauthorized transfers across 35 separate FBI investigations—taking funds belonging to fraud victims and nation-state hacking suspects—and illicitly gaining $2,474,380.66 before attempting to launder the proceeds by swapping tokens. Between November 25, 2025, and January 13, 2026, Yaroch moved approximately $93,082 into personal accounts to pay credit cards, vehicle loans, and other debts.

Court records show Yaroch also booked flights to Lisbon and executed power-of-attorney documents with 2 attorneys in Portugal to secure a tax identification number for an early September relocation after querying ChatGPT about retiring around age 40 with roughly $1 million in Europe's Cilento or Dão vineyard regions. Yaroch self-reported the thefts to Department of Justice National Security Division and FBI Headquarters personnel on July 29, 2026, was placed on administrative leave that day, and was fired and taken into custody at his residence on July 31, 2026. He is scheduled for sentencing on March 4 and faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in federal prison for wire fraud and 20 years for money laundering.

California Voters Reject Proposition 45 Construction Streamlining Measure

At the statewide ballot box, California voters have rejected Proposition 45, a ballot initiative designed to accelerate construction projects across the state by cutting through environmental regulatory requirements, according to KCBS Radio. In an interview with KCBS reporter Melanie Woodrow, San Jose State University political science professor emeritus Larry Gerston examined how voter concerns over environmental protections weighed against proposals to streamline building approvals.