According to the San Francisco Chronicle, former Oakland Mayor Sheng Tao has been indicted by a federal grand jury.

The indictment comes seven months after the FBI raided Tao's home and two months after Oakland voters recalled her.

The anonymous source who spoke to The Chronicle added that the indictment is scheduled to be formally released on Friday, so little is known about the specific crimes Thao will be charged with. On Thursday, the U.S. Attorney's Office issued a press briefing saying the FBI, U.S. Postal Service and IRS would unveil a "significant law enforcement operation," local news outlet Oaklandside reported.

Thao's brief tenure as Oakland mayor was fraught with controversy, culminating in her removal from office via recall. District attorneys are also recalled during the election. Thao fired Oakland Police Chief Leron Armstrong in February 2023. She argued that she lost control of Armstrong after an investigation linked him to systemic failings within the department and after he publicly accused federal regulators of corruption without evidence, The Guardian reported in October. gained confidence.

She has also been accused of being soft on crime, which critics say led to the loss of the Oakland Athletics baseball team and the departure of restaurant chains In-N-Out and Denny's.

After the FBI raid in June, Tao denied any wrongdoing and argued the timing of the raid was suspicious because days earlier, city clerks notified the mayor of his support for recalling him, The Guardian last reported those who have collected enough signatures to qualify for the ballot. June.

Thao was elected mayor of Oakland in 2022, becoming the first Hmong American woman to lead a major U.S. city and the youngest Oakland mayor in 75 years. Prior to that, she had a reputation for community involvement and activism and served as an intern for Oakland Deputy Mayor Rebecca Kaplan. She has promised to fill vacancies in Oakland's corruption-ridden police force and vowed to invest in violence prevention programs.

Thao, who has been mayor for just 18 months, launched the recall effort, the city's first in more than a century, funded by wealthy tech and cryptocurrency executives. She was ousted in the November election.

The Guardian contacted Tao's lawyer, Jeff Tsai, for comment on the reported indictment, but had not heard back as of press time. Cai told the Mercury News that he and Tao had not been contacted by the U.S. Attorney's Office and were not aware of new developments in the federal investigation.