{"id":3935,"date":"2026-07-07T04:39:06","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T04:39:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3935"},"modified":"2026-07-07T04:39:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T04:39:06","slug":"grand-jury-convened-in-contra-costa-assessor-fbi-raids-subpoenas-name-refinery-seeno-family-denova-homes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3935","title":{"rendered":"Grand jury convened in Contra Costa assessor FBI raids: Subpoenas name refinery, Seeno family, DeNova Homes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The federal inquiry into Contra Costa County\u2019s outgoing and incoming assessors appears to be far broader than originally known, seeking records related to the Martinez Refining Company, the Seeno family \u2014 powerful figures in Bay Area real estate development \u2014 and a father-son homebuilding duo who were indicted on bribery and conspiracy charges last year, newly obtained documents show.<\/p>\n

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The documents, obtained Monday by the Bay Area News Group, reveal the existence of ongoing grand jury proceedings related to the criminal investigation involving longtime Assessor Gus Kramer and his recently-elected successor, Vince Robb, whose homes and offices were raided by the FBI last month. The grand jury met in Oakland on July 2, according to the documents, which were signed by a federal prosecutor.<\/p>\n

Subpoenas were issued June 8, the same day FBI agents raided both men\u2019s houses and the assessor\u2019s office. In them, Contra Costa officials were ordered to turn over eight years of emails, calendars and notes for various officials, including Kramer, Robb, and three other employees of the assessor\u2019s office. U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian also demanded a trove of records \u201cregarding the assessments, reassessments and\/or appeals\u201d of property owned by three prominent Contra Costa County companies and at least 15 of their properties or housing developments dating back to various points in 2018.<\/p>\n

Also requested were documents related to a lawsuit, recently settled for $135,000, claiming Kramer had given an improper assessment of a property and retaliated against an employee who complained. The subpoenas, which include a request to \u201cnot to disclose the existence of the subpoena,\u201d were obtained through a California Public Records Act request.<\/p>\n

Taken together, the documents offer the first glimpse into an investigation that burst into view with the raids targeting one of Contra Costa County\u2019s most battle-hardened politicians in Kramer. The longtime assessor told television station KPIX earlier this month the raids could be attributed to \u201clow people in high places\u201d who were \u201cweaponizing\u201d law enforcement over some expensive properties. Kramer did not immediately respond to a request from this news organization Monday about the subpoenas.<\/p>\n

Among the entities also targeted are DeNova Homes and its founder David Sanson, along with his wife Lori Sanson and their son, Trent Sanson. The father-son homebuilding duo were indicted by a federal grand jury last year amid allegations they tried to bribe an Antioch city councilperson in order to hasten the development of a stalled housing project.<\/p>\n

That project, called Aviano, now ranks among nine developments across Antioch, Oakley, Martinez, Pinole and Pleasant Hill that federal prosecutors appear to be targeting in their latest investigation into the assessor\u2019s office, the subpoenas show.<\/p>\n

Other entities named in the newly released subpoenas include Discovery Builders and its founder, Albert Seeno III, who has spent nearly three decades developing communities across Northern California. Prosecutors specifically named two addresses tied to the longtime real estate developer, including a museum in Concord associated with Willow View Associates.<\/p>\n

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Prosecutors also asked for documents regarding Seeno\u2019s father, Albert Seeno Jr., who as head of Seeno Homes has overseen the construction of tens of thousands of homes across California. Federal officials also sought records for the Martinez Refining Company, one of the county\u2019s largest employers. The refinery faced a $10 million fine earlier this year for repeated safety violations over a four-year period.<\/p>\n

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Also targeted in the subpoenas were records related to three other of Kramer\u2019s employees: Denise Lucido, Peter Yu and Parampreet Singh Bhatia. Prosecutors also asked for documents tied to properties owned by Sean McCauley, Jack Dudum and Sylvia Dudum Del Santo.<\/p>\n

At the time of the June 8 raids, a warrant cited alleged wire fraud and \u201cother offenses,\u201d but didn\u2019t provide additional details. It did not identify whether Kramer, Robb or anyone else was a target of the investigation.<\/p>\n

It is not the first time Kramer has been investigated by law enforcement or faced serious allegations of wrongdoing; however, none of the previous probes or allegations has led to a criminal charge or conviction, nor to Kramer\u2019s removal or departure from office.<\/p>\n

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The most recent controversy came in January, when the county paid $135,000 to settle a lawsuit that accused Kramer of improperly slashing a property\u2019s value by millions of dollars \u2014 then retaliating against the employee who raised alarms about it.<\/p>\n

The address of that property, the Carmel Pines Apartments at 1770 Carmel Drive in Walnut Creek, also is listed on a subpoena issued to Contra Costa County. It marks the lone address for which federal prosecutors sought records dating back to January 1, 2018, as opposed to June 1 for every other person and property listed in the subpoena.<\/p>\n

In 2011, the Contra Costa County District Attorney\u2019s Office investigated land deals tied to Kramer but did not prosecute him. Two deputy district attorneys later complained that their then-boss, District Attorney Mark Peterson, killed the probe to protect Kramer. Peterson left office in 2017 after pleading guilty to stealing from his own campaign fund. In 2018, the county\u2019s civil grand jury attempted to oust Kramer for alleged employee harassment, but the case was dropped after a jury couldn\u2019t reach a verdict on civil charges of misconduct in office.<\/p>\n

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 jrodgers@bayareanewsgroup.com.<\/em><\/p>\n

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New documents obtained by Bay Area News Group shed light on why the FBI raided the homes and offices of the outgoing and incoming county assessors last month.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3934,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nGrand jury convened in Contra Costa assessor FBI raids: Subpoenas name refinery, Seeno family, DeNova Homes - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3935\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Grand jury convened in Contra Costa assessor FBI raids: Subpoenas name refinery, Seeno family, DeNova Homes - 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