San Leandro Council Member Charged In Corruption Scheme: Feds

SAN LEANDRO, CA — A San Leandro council member has been charged in connection with a corruption scheme involving a housing company, according to federal prosecutors.

Bryan Azevedo is accused of helping a housing company win city contracts in exchange for kickbacks, according to charging documents filed Tuesday in federal court.

Those documents show he is being charged with conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and making false statements to authorities. He could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted on both charges.

The housing company isn't named in the charging documents. But, according to a report from the San Francisco Chronicle, it is the same company — Evolutionary Homes— which was linked to former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao. Thao was charged with bribery earlier this year.

Azevedo, who has not been arrested as of Tuesday, according to federal records, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Patch.

The scheme started as early as 2023, when the housing company paid for Azevedo's 10-day trip to Vietnam, according to federal prosecutors.

When he came back from the trip, Azevedo met with someone from the housing company and agreed to use his power as a council member to help them obtain city contracts, prosecutors said.

Between fall 2023 and spring 2024, Azevedo took steps that benefited the housing company, including advocating for an emergency shelter ordinance. That emergency ordinance was eventually passed by the council in June 2024, according to federal prosecutors.

Azevedo also tried to convince other council members to have the city buy housing units from the company, federal prosecutors said.

The agreement between Azevedo and the housing company ensured the council member would get a percentage of whatever money the housing company got from selling units to the city of San Leandro, authorities said.

Azevedo, under instruction from the housing company, opened an LLC and bank account in his wife's name to mask his involvement in the scheme, authorities said.

The council member was interviewed by FBI agents in January about his involvement and lied to them, saying he had not received any payments from them, according to authorities.

The council member, however, had been paid at least $2,000 by the housing company at the time of the interview, authorities said.

Azevedo was elected to the San Leandro City Council in 2020 and was re-elected last year. He represents District 2.