Orange County supervisors are set to vote Tuesday on a censure of their fellow board member Andrew Do. Also on the agenda: a vote that would require reviews of county contracts and additional transparency measures.
Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento, who pushed the censure vote, told LAist that a formal rebuke would be “primarily symbolic.” At the same time, he said it gives the board “an opportunity to publicly condemn the actions that we know make it difficult for Supervisor Do to carry out his responsibilities and serve his constituents.”
Do has not attended the last two board meetings.
Additionally, supervisors are scheduled to vote on:
- A review of all county contracts, including those funded by federal COVID dollars
- A new disclosure policy when it comes to family ties to entities awarded public funds
If approved, the update to the current contract policy manual would bring it in line with AB 3130. That bill was signed into law earlier this month by Gov. Gavin Newsom and will require county supervisors across the state to disclose any family ties they have to a nonprofit’s employees or officers before any board awards money to the group. The new law goes into effect Jan. 1, 2025, and was inspired by LAist reporting.
LAist has uncovered more than $13 million in public funds directed by Supervisor Do to Viet America Society (VAS), most awarded outside of public view and without him disclosing that his daughter worked as a leader there. Most of that money came from federal COVID relief funds earmarked to help people during the pandemic.
Continued calls for Do to resign
Do continues to face calls to resign from Sarmiento and Supervisor Katrina Foley, who is asking the board to approve the review of all contracts for compliance with AB 3130. Those resignation calls came after federal agents searched Supervisor Do’s family home in North Tustin last month — as well as a nearby home purchased by his 23-year-old daughter, Rhiannon Do, and the homes of others named in a county fraud lawsuit filed ahead of the searches.
The searches came nine months after LAist first reported county officials were asking serious questions about what happened to millions in taxpayer funds directed by Supervisor Do to a little-known nonprofit.
A no-show at meetings
Supervisor Do has missed two meetings in a row. [His office told the interim County CEO last month he would miss the next few meetings.]
At the last board meeting, in his absence, his fellow supervisors removed him from committee assignments, including his board position on the Orange County Transportation Authority.
LAist has reached out to Supervisor Do for comment and will update the story if we hear back. He has declined to comment dozens of times since LAist first began reporting on the money he directed to Viet America Society.
Attorneys Paul Meyer and Craig Wilke, who represented former Anaheim Mayor Sidhu on federal corruption charges, are now representing Supervisor Do. They did not respond to LAist's requests for comment for this story, but previously said in a written statement, “Supervisor Andrew Do looks forward to a thorough and fair investigation. Out of respect for the process, there is no further statement that can be made at this time. We ask that judgment be reserved by all pending the completion of the investigation.”
About the censure vote
The censure motion that supervisors are scheduled to vote on expresses concern that Supervisor Do did not disclose familial ties to VAS and showed “inappropriate favoritism” to the nonprofit. Actions, the proposed censure states, that “will erode public trust in County government as a responsible steward of public money.”
The report on the censures calls it “an important step towards rebuilding public trust and demonstrating the Board’s commitment to addressing these issues and ensuring that this conduct is not repeated in future.”
The censure vote, Sarmiento told LAist, is not just for the public, but for county employees who feel “betrayed” because the unfolding fraud allegations “distorts the narrative of what the function is of the county.”
“This … is also to let them know that those of us who remain on the board, we'll continue to conduct the people's business and we'll also call out these moments when you see an abuse of authority and abuse of the public's trust,” he said.
Another attempt at ethics reform
Sarmiento said he also plans to introduce expanded ethics reforms for the supervisors to vote on later in the fall. His previous attempt to require supervisors to disclose immediate family connections to contractors they’re awarding money to — and holding public votes when such connections existed — failed in a deadlock back in January. Sarmiento and Foley voted yes, Supervisors Don Wagner and Doug Chaffee voted no. Supervisor Do was absent for the vote.
Until Monday, when Newsom signed a new state law SB 1111, it was not illegal for an elected official to vote on contracts that benefited their adult children. That law, also inspired by LAist reporting, goes into effect Jan. 1, 2026.
Since Sarmiento's reform attempt fell short earlier this year, federal agencies searched Supervisor Do’s house and county officials filed a lawsuit against VAS and its leaders alleging they “brazenly plundered” funds Supervisor Do directed to the nonprofit. Supervisor Do is not named as a defendant in the county lawsuit.
Sarmiento told LAist he is “trying to find some way to put some teeth into our code of ethics” so if something similar happens in the future it will result in sanctions, such as the automatic removal of a supervisor from appointments to boards and commissions. He is also exploring the option of them not receiving their pay for serving as a supervisor if they violate the code of ethics.
Details on the proposed contract reviews
Foley is calling on the board to ask the internal auditor to conduct a review of all of county contracts that received COVID federal funds. Additionally, that review should include any familial ties contact holders to supervisors, transparency now required under AB 3130, which Newsom signed into law Sept. 14.
Right now, it took more than a year for the board to have light on it. Frankly, it was because of reporters digging in. [LAist reporter Nick] Gerda was the one that told me and that’s not ever good.”
These first steps, Foley said, are needed to “triage the situation” to make sure all county contracts are in compliance.
Foley said she believes the measures she’s putting up for a vote complement proposed updates to the county contract manual that the CEO’s office is seeking the board to approve.
Foley also wants a policy drafted for review that would require all discretionary funding go through the County Procurement Office and the board be given quarterly updates on any contract disputes.
“Right now, it took more than a year for the board to have light on it,” Foley said. “Frankly, it was because of reporters digging in. Gerda (LAist Senior Reporter Nick Gerda) was the one that told me and that’s not ever good.”
Regular updates, she said, will help the board take corrective action “and most importantly, we don't keep funding a contractor that's not performing and not compliant.”
Catch up on the investigation
In November 2023, LAist began investigating how millions in public taxpayer dollars were spent. In total, LAist has uncovered public records showing more than $13 million in public money that 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 Supervisor 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 LAist 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 LAist 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 the nonprofit that it could be forced to repay the funds.
- And, LAist 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.
- On Aug. 15, LAist reported O.C. officials sued VAS and its key officers and associated businesses, including Rhiannon Do. The lawsuit alleges that county money was illegally used to purchase five homes and was converted into cash through ATM transactions.
- Then, on Aug. 19, LAist reported O.C. officials had announced a second lawsuit against Hand to Hand and its CEO to recover millions of taxpayer dollars that were directed by Supervisor Do.
- LAist broke the news on Aug. 22 that federal agents were searching Rhiannon Do's home in Tustin. Later that day, Supervisor Do's home, and other properties, were also raided.
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 scheduled board meeting is Tuesday, Sept. 24. 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.
