East Bay Developer Father and Son Charged With Bribing City Councilmember, $5,000 Cash Hidden in a Travel Mug
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California announced on April 22, 2025, that a two-count indictment unsealed that day charged East Bay property developers David Sanson and Trent Sanson, a father and son, with conspiracy and bribery: offering to pay an Antioch City Councilmember in Contra Costa County, California, $10,000, and later giving the councilmember a company travel mug containing $5,000 in cash, in exchange for favorable treatment for one of their development projects. The councilmember had reported the alleged bribe to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and both defendants made their initial appearances in federal court in Oakland that morning.
The indictment was filed on April 3, 2025. According to the Justice Department, David Sanson, 60, of Philipsburg, Montana, is the owner and chief executive officer of a home building and development company based in Concord, California, and his son Trent Sanson, 33, of Walnut Creek, is the company's vice president. The company has a number of projects in Antioch and neighboring areas, including the Aviano project, a multi-phase, 533-unit residential development.
According to the indictment, the Antioch Engineering and Development Services Division had indicated that the company had not completed all of its required public infrastructure improvements and that Phase 3 of Aviano should not be deemed complete or approved by the City Council until those improvements were finished, so the city had not approved the release of the bonds secured for the project. To press for a completion finding and the release of the bonds, Trent Sanson allegedly contacted the councilmember by iMessage on May 29, 2024, saying he wanted to discuss issues the company was facing with Antioch's engineering department on a number of projects, including Phase 3 of Aviano.
The indictment describes two video-recorded meetings. On June 12, 2024, Trent Sanson allegedly asked the councilmember to place on the City Council agenda, and vote in favor of, "acceptance for Phase 3 at Aviano to release the completion and guarantee bonds," and said David Sanson was willing to pay the councilmember $10,000 in exchange. At a second meeting on June 20, 2024, David Sanson allegedly paid the councilmember $5,000 in cash concealed in a travel coffee mug branded with the logo of the Sansons' development company.
Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick D. Robbins said the indictment alleges the defendants tried to bribe an Antioch City Councilmember to take favorable action on their real estate project and to evade making the public infrastructure improvements the city required; FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani called attempting to bribe a public official "a blatant attack on the integrity of our government." Each defendant is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery (18 U.S.C. § 371) and one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds (18 U.S.C. § 666(a)(2)), carrying maximum penalties of five years and 10 years in prison respectively if convicted. The defendants were next scheduled to appear on June 12, 2025, for a status conference before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas R. Green and Benjamin K. Kleinman. An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and both defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. (Source: U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California)
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于加州奥克兰的罗纳德·戴勒姆斯联邦大楼（资料图），本案起诉书在此解封、两名被告在此首次出庭。图：Urbanist471，CC BY-SA 4.0，via Wikimedia Commons / Photo: The Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building in Oakland, California (file photo), where the indictment was unsealed and both defendants made their initial appearances. Photo: Urbanist471, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
