Orange County officials on Thursday sued a nonprofit at the center of an LAist investigation into millions of tax dollars that have gone unaccounted now for years, despite federal and county audit requirements.
The county suit names the nonprofit Viet America Society, its key officers and associated businesses, and demands the return of millions in public funds. The lawsuit alleges that county money was illegally used to purchase five homes and was converted into cash through ATM transactions. Rhiannon Do, the 23-year-old daughter of Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do, is among the named parties being sued by the county.
“Viet America Society (VAS), and its officers and associates, brazenly plundered these funds for their own personal gain,” the lawsuit states. “[They] saw the opportunity, and conspired to embezzle pandemic relief funds by executing contracts that they never intended to perform, instead using the funding streams as their own personal banking accounts.”
The lawsuit alleges damages to the county are "in no event less than $10.4 million dollars."
About the allegations
It further alleges that “multiple co-conspirators” formed VAS in June 2020 to apply for county contracts for their private and personal benefit, and failed to complete a Vietnam War memorial, which suit describes as a flagrant, egregious, and malicious breach of duty.
The lawsuit filed in Orange County Superior Court lists more than a dozen counts that include breach of contract, unfair business practices, and filing false claims.
The suit — which County Counsel Leon J. Page had threatened last week — comes after the nonprofit group missed multiple deadlines to account for millions of taxpayer dollars that were directed by Supervisor Andrew Do, most of which was meant to provide meals for seniors during the pandemic.
Rhiannon Do is named in the lawsuit alongside Peter Ahn Pham, Dinh Mai and Thu Thao Thi Vu.
Public records showed she was listed in leading roles at VAS on and off during the time her father directed more than $13 million to the group. Rhiannon Do and a former attorney for VAS have previously told LAist that she did not hold those positions. But they did not explain why she appeared on at least nine public documents, including tax forms, as a VAS officer.
LAist was the first to report that family connection and uncover the millions in taxpayer money granted by Supervisor Do, largely outside of public view.
Other supervisors react
Supervisor Donald Wagner said in a statement that the county doesn’t take this action lightly and comes after all prior attempts have failed.
“We have seen changing lawyers and changing accountants, rather than contract compliance,” Wagner said in a statement. “Now, we have also learned of the other financial irregularities detailed in the complaint that makes prompt legal action necessary. We will not let stand the abuses outlined in the complaint. Orange County taxpayers deserve their money back.”
“These allegations show blatant deception and greed by individuals motivated solely to enrich themselves," said Supervisor Katrina Foley in a statement. She went on to say the lawsuit "highlights rampant abuse of taxpayer funds to enrich well-connected insiders instead of feeding vulnerable seniors in the Vietnamese community or honoring our Vietnam War Veterans.”
Supervisor Doug Chaffee said in a statement that he was "disturbed and outraged by recent revelations." He said the alleged misuse of funds was "not just a failure of leadership, but a betrayal of the public's trust."
The details
The lawsuit specifically cites a home in Tustin purchased by Rhiannon Do.
The suit alleges Aloha Financial Investment helped finance Rhiannon Do’s house purchase. Thu Thao Thi Vu, identified in county contracts as Aloha’s president, is also named in the Orange County lawsuit. Financial records obtained by LAist through a public records request show that the majority of county funds sent to VAS in 2021 and 2022 were routed to a Westminster restaurant, Perfume River. In county inspection reports, Perfume River’s owner is listed as Aloha Financial Investment. VAS disclosed those payments to the county in general ledgers.
Demand letters sent in late July by county officials said the food service payments to Perfume River were “questionable.” The letters also said VAS had refused to explain the payments.
In early April, LAist asked Rhiannon Do about how she was able to afford the $1 million home as a full-time UC Irvine law student and part-time VAS employee. The mortgage on the home was $621,000, according to mortgage documents filed in a deed recorded with the county.
Rhiannon Do did not answer questions about where the down payment home came from. But in her two emailed responses, she said she had worked hard for the house, citing her work at a summer internship and her work at VAS. She also again denied she’d served in leadership roles at VAS.
“As I have previously stated, I was never an officer or director for VAS. I have worked for the past 3 years to help them stand up a mental health clinic, which was the first of its kind for the Vietnamese American community in Orange County," she said. "I was later hired to work on a proposal for the Elderly Nutrition Program, a food service program for seniors, which was completely unrelated to COVID and any COVID funding. I had also worked at a law firm last summer. I have worked hard to purchase my house.”
Records obtained by LAist from the county showed her monthly income from VAS was $4,600.
In addition, Peter Pham, who founded VAS, is accused in the lawsuit of using county funds to pay for repairs and improvements at his Buena Park home.
Note: We've reached out to Supervisor Do for comment and did not immediately hear back. Supervisor Do in the past has denied any wrongdoing in interviews with other media outlets and claimed LAist's reporting was inaccurate. He has never requested a retraction or correction. Mark Rosen, an attorney for VAS, said he needed time to read the lawsuit. We're reaching out to other named defendants as well and will have more on this developing story.
How we got here
In a letter dated Aug. 12, Mark Rosen, an attorney representing VAS, wrote to an O.C. official that “the demand that VAS reimburse the county for every single cent paid to it is ill-advised, and overreaching, and, frankly, outrageous."
According to Rosen, every meal contracted was paid for and delivered. He added that the county paid VAS on a monthly basis without any requests for reports until recently, and the contracts were renewed for several years without any challenge to the paperwork.
“Any flaws in the reporting were technical flaws caused by the unique circumstances of the COVID pandemic,” Rosen wrote. The first of the contracts directed by Supervisor Do to VAS was by the end of 2020, around the time the first vaccines were available and nearly a year into the pandemic.
Two Orange County Supervisors, Katrina Foley and Vincente Sarmiento, on Wednesday had called on the county District Attorney’s office, the state of California, and the U.S. Treasury Department to investigate the use of state and federal funds allocated to VSA and Hand to Hand Relief Organization, another nonprofit Supervisor Do directed money to during the pandemic, on Wednesday.
Sarmiento said in a statement that he’s collaborating with O.C. leaders to support a pair of bills moving through Sacramento — Senate Bill 1111 and Assembly Bill 3130 — as legislative solutions addressing conflicts of interest and increased transparency.
What’s next
A case management conference has been scheduled for Jan. 28, 2025, according to court documents.
Catch up on the investigation
In November 2023, LAist began investigating how millions in public taxpayer dollars were spent. In total, LAist has uncovered over $13 million in public money was approved to a little-known nonprofit that records state was led on and off by Rhiannon Do, the now 23-year-old daughter of O.C. Supervisor Andrew Do. Most of that money was directed to the group by Supervisor Do outside of the public’s view and never appeared on public meeting agendas. He did not publicly disclose his family ties.
Much of the known funding came from federal coronavirus relief money.
- Read the story that launched the investigation here.
- Since we started reporting, we’ve also uncovered the group was two years overdue in completing a required audit into whether the meal funds were spent appropriately.
- And we found the amount of taxpayer money directed to the nonprofit was much larger than initially known. It totals at least $13.5 million in county funding — tallied from government records obtained and published by LAist.
- After our reporting, O.C. officials wrote demand letters to the nonprofit saying millions in funding were unaccounted for. They warned it could be forced to repay the funds.
- And, we found the nonprofit missed a deadline set by county officials to provide proof about how funding for meals were spent.
- On Aug. 2, LAist reported O.C. officials were demanding the refund of more than $3 million in public funds awarded by Do to VAS and another nonprofit, Hand to Hand.
- Six days later, LAist reported Orange County officials had expanded demands for refunds of millions in tax dollars from the nonprofits and threatened legal action.
How to watchdog local government
One of the best things you can do to hold officials accountable is pay attention.
Your city council, board of supervisors, school board and more all hold public meetings that anybody can attend. These are times you can talk to your elected officials directly and hear about the policies they’re voting on that affect your community.
- Read tips on how to get involved.
- The next regular meeting of the board is Tuesday, Aug. 27 (a closed session is on the calendar for next Tuesday). You can check out the O.C. Board of Supervisors full calendar here.
- Learn how to submit a public comment to the O.C. Board of Supervisors.
