Several companies, developers and properties have been linked to a federal investigation surrounding the Contra Costa County Assessor’s Office, according to grand jury subpoenas made public earlier this week. A closer look at the records shows that prosecutors are examining some of the county’s biggest taxpayers and most prominent builders.
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The subpoenas — obtained by the Bay Area News Group under a California Public Records Act request — seek documents including Martinez Refining Co., developers responsible for the construction of tens of thousands of homes across Northern California and several properties and people connected to the assessor’s office.
The records, released late Monday, helped crystalize the scope of a federal inquiry that burst into public view June 8, during raids by FBI agents at the houses of outgoing Contra Costa County Assessor Gus Kramer and his newly-elected successor, Vince Robb, as well as their county offices.
The subpoenas do not accuse any person or company of wrongdoing, and prosecutors have not publicly explained why they sought the records.
Federal authorities have not disclosed the focus of the investigation. The clearest clues are prosecutors’ requests for documents “regarding the assessments, reassessments and/or appeals” of most entities listed in the subpoenas, along with a warrant accompanying the June raids that cited alleged wire fraud and “other offenses.”
Here’s a rundown of several entities named in the subpoenas:
Carmel Pines apartments
Federal prosecutors sought information concerning 1770 Carmel Drive in Walnut Creek, otherwise known as the Carmel Pines apartments, a property at the center of a valuation dispute that led Contra Costa County to pay a former supervising appraiser $135,000.
Andrea Albrecht, that former appraiser, alleged that Kramer inserted himself into the dispute and tried to reduce the apartments’ value by at least $3 million.
Kramer “usurped” a December 2022 hearing before the county’s Assessment Appeals Board by showing up unexpectedly and, despite having done no previous work on the case, arguing against Albrecht’s valuation of the property, according to her lawsuit. During the hearing, Kramer told the board that he had reached “a meeting of the minds” with the property owner, according to a recording obtained by this news organization.
Kramer told this news organization in January that he had never before met the property owners and “just happened to be in the room” that day. He also said he had told Albrecht the night before that “her numbers did not add up.”
The $135,000 settlement pushed the amount Contra Costa County has paid to resolve legal disputes over Kramer’s alleged conduct past $1 million during his tenure as assessor. The county previously paid $993,880 in 2009 to settle claims involving other alleged misconduct.
Reached Thursday, Zachary Samuels, whose company A.L. Kolom & Associates owned the property at the time of the disputed valuation, said federal authorities had not contacted him about it.
He said he had “no clue” why the property appeared in the subpoena.
Martinez Refining Co.
Prosecutors also sought assessment-related records involving Martinez Refining Co., which describes itself as the largest employer in Martinez.
The refinery agreed earlier this year to pay $10 million in fines and $600,000 in mitigation payments for 163 safety violations over a four-year period. The violations included the release of powdery white dust that covered homes in Martinez on Thanksgiving Day in 2022.
The refinery is owned by PBF Energy.
A separate inquiry remains underway into an explosion and massive fire at the plant on Feb. 1, 2025, which sent a plume of black smoke over parts of Contra Costa County and released more than 7,000 gallons of hydrocarbon materials.
The subpoena does not explain why prosecutors sought records involving the refinery or indicate that the company is accused of wrongdoing in the property assessment investigation.
The Seeno family & Discovery Builders
The subpoenas also sought records involving the Seeno family and Discovery Builders, the homebuilding company launched by Albert Seeno III in 1997.
The family’s development business began when Albert Seeno Sr., the son of an immigrant fisherman, started a construction company in his 20s focused on eastern Contra Costa County. He later turned the company over to his sons, Albert Seeno Jr. and Tom Seeno, in the 1970s.
By the time Seeno Sr. died in 2000, the company had built more than 30,000 homes in California and Nevada.
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The Seeno family has previously drawn FBI scrutiny, most notably during a February 2010 raid that did not lead to criminal charges against the family itself.
A separate FBI mortgage fraud investigation led to the conviction of at least 10 people and an $8 million fine against Discovery Sales, an arm of Discovery Builders. The company was also ordered to pay $3 million in restitution.
Prosecutors said the scheme used inflated valuations of Seeno real estate assets to avoid violating credit agreements or posting additional collateral.
No individual members of the Seeno family were charged in the mortgage fraud case.
The newly released subpoenas do not explain why prosecutors are seeking records involving the family or Discovery Builders, and they do not accuse either of wrongdoing in the current investigation.
DeNova Homes
The subpoenas also sought records involving Concord-based DeNova Homes, as well as its founders, David and Lori Sanson, their son Trent and the company’s 533-home Aviano subdivision in Antioch.
The Aviano project was among 10 housing developments specifically listed in the subpoenas.
David and Trent Sanson were indicted in April 2025 on bribery and conspiracy charges after federal prosecutors alleged they tried to pay an Antioch City Council member to help move the subdivision forward.
At the time, David Sanson was CEO emeritus of DeNova Homes, which he helped found, while Trent Sanson had previously worked there as a vice president.
Prosecutors allege the Sansons offered the councilmember $10,000 in exchange for placing a key project benchmark on a City Council agenda and voting for it. The alleged agreement called for a $5,000 donation to an independent expenditure committee aligned with the councilmember and $5,000 in cash placed inside a blood-orange, DeNova-branded travel mug.
Records later obtained by this news organization showed DeNova also pursued a legal contractual claim that ultimately helped revive work on Aviano. Weeks after David Sanson met with the councilmember, the company filed a “notice of breach” alleging Antioch had failed to uphold its obligations under the project’s development agreement.
The subpoena does not establish that Aviano’s assessment or any related appeal was improper.
Other entities
The subpoenas also named three current or former assessor’s office employees: Denise Lucido, Peter Yu and Parampreet Singh Bhatia. Of the three, Lucido was the only employee for whom prosecutors specifically sought records concerning assessments, reassessments or appeals involving her or members of her family.
The subpoenas do not explain why prosecutors sought those records and do not accuse Lucido, Yu or Bhatia of wrongdoing.
Federal prosecutors have not announced any charges arising from the raids or subpoenas.
Jakob Rodgers is a senior breaking news reporter. Call, text or send him an encrypted message via Signal at 510-390-2351, or email him at [email protected].
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