Topline:
Orange County has announced a lawsuit against another nonprofit, Hand to Hand Relief Organization (H2H), and its CEO to recover millions of taxpayer dollars that were directed by Supervisor Andrew Do.
Why it matters: The $3 million was meant to feed hungry seniors during the pandemic, but the organization is accused of using the money for “illusory loan payments” to its CEO, Thanh Huong Nguyen, according to Supervisor Katrina Foley’s office.
The details: The organization allegedly directed the money to Nguyen’s separate businesses, as well as private rental payments to Aloha Financial, and for “voluminous” cash withdrawals. More than $600,000 of H2H’s pandemic relief grants were also allegedly transferred to Viet America Society (VAS) as a subcontractor, according to Foley's office. VAS is the nonprofit at the center of a long-running LAist investigation.
Attempts to reach H2H Monday evening were unsuccessful.
The backstory: Both Aloha Financial and VAS are defendants in another O.C. lawsuit filed last week. Mark Rosen, the attorney representing VAS, called that lawsuit "a disgrace,” and told LAist in an interview that he believes it's more of a political statement meant to generate headlines.
Why now: “H2H and VAS schemed to pilfer public funds,” Foley said in a statement Monday. “With this additional litigation against H2H and VAS, I renew my call for criminal investigations by County, State, and Federal officials, and commit that the County of Orange continues to pursue all avenues available to recover these grossly misused taxpayer funds.”
LAist is working to obtain a copy of the lawsuit from the court and will have more on this developing story.
Read on... for more about LAist’s investigation.
