East Bay Developers Charged With Bribery in Alleged Antioch Housing Scheme

Federal prosecutors this week announced bribery and conspiracy charges against the owners of an East Bay housing development firm, alleging they offered an Antioch city council member thousands of dollars to help approve a residential project in the city.

At least the alleged bribe was proffered in a reusable cup.

According to the indictment, David Sanson, 60, and his 33-year-old son, Trent Sanson, met on several occasions with the unnamed council member in June 2024. The owners of Concord-based DeNova Homes first offered $10,000 and then tried to sweeten the deal with an additional $5,000 in cash stuffed inside a travel coffee mug branded with the company’s logo.

The alleged transaction by the father-son duo came after a city of Antioch planning agency opposed approval of DeNova’s proposed 533-unit Aviano housing development, saying the company had not completed all required public infrastructure improvements.

The indictment describes a video-recorded meeting on June 12 between Trent Sanson, a Walnut Creek resident, and the council member, during which Sanson allegedly asked the council member to place a motion on the City Council agenda to approve the next phase of the project. He said his father, who now lives in Montana, was willing to pay $10,000 in exchange for the favor.

“You’re not going to see anything directly, but Dave will be doing something for you,” Trent Sanson allegedly told the council member during that first meeting, adding that his father would likely give $5,000 in cash and another $5,000 as a donation to a political action committee or as an independent expenditure.

Several weeks earlier, the council member had received a text from Trent Sanson requesting the meeting to discuss the project. The council member notified the FBI in advance, and agents set up the clandestine video recording.

When reached for comment, former Antioch City Councilmember Mike Barbanica, who was on the Council last year, declined to say whether he was the official who reported the alleged bribe.

“I’ve always had a policy that if there’s an active investigation, I don’t comment on it,” he told KQED, adding that elected officials had an obligation to “do business correctly, do business the right way.”

In a statement to KQED, Winston Chan, David Sanson’s attorney, referred to his client as “a respected business leader and philanthropist” with a 30-year track record of building homes in Northern California. Without providing specific details or evidence, he said David Sanson had been “trapped into a web of deceit” orchestrated by “a controversial local politico, whose own suspect personal motivations we look forward to exposing.”

“We are reviewing the government’s allegations closely and caution against any rush to judgment based on mere allegations that present a one-sided story. We are confident the facts will show that Dave is innocent,” Chan said.

He continued: “It’s incredibly disappointing that Dave’s reputation — built on a decades-long career of creating opportunities for residents of cities like Antioch, that have struggled for years to keep up with housing needs and other challenges — is being dragged through the mud.”

A representative for DeNova Homes, which has been building housing developments in cities across the Bay Area for 35 years, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the company was not implicated in the case and said that David Sanson is no longer involved in the company’s leadership or daily operations.

David Sanson is still listed on the company’s site as a founder and “Chief Executive Officer Emeritus.” There is no mention of his son.