Orange County officials are expanding demands for refunds of millions in tax dollars that county Supervisor Andrew Do gave to a nonprofit his daughter was listed as leading. And they’re threatening to take the group to court.
A letter issued Wednesday by the county, obtained by LAist through a public records request, demands Viet America Society return millions in public funding earmarked to feed needy residents and warns millions more may be at issue.
Last Friday, LAist was the first to report that the county recently demanded a $2.2 million refund from Viet America Society (VAS), as well as $1 million from another group — Hand to Hand Relief Organization — that had passed much of it to VAS, according to public records obtained by LAist.
Now, county officials are ramping up the pressure.
Where things stand
In letters dated Wednesday, Aug. 7, Orange County’s top attorney roughly doubled the minimum amount the county is demanding back from VAS — to $4.2 million — and warned that millions more is at issue. A separate letter expanded on the refund demand to Hand to Hand, a nonprofit that worked closely with VAS according to public records.
The county letters demand both groups immediately refund any money that they failed to spend as required in the contracts. That could mean a lot of funding that was earmarked for meals, and also $1 million to VAS for designing, building and maintaining a Vietnam War memorial.
In all, the letter to VAS signed by County Counsel Leon Page notes that the nonprofit had received “well over a total of $10 million in public funds” that were “required to be used for the specific purposes stated in each of those contracts.”
Page’s letter to VAS concludes by saying:
“Based upon the lack of documentation provided thus far from VAS, the County has no way to verify the funds were utilized for their intended purposes. If the County does not receive the requested funds and documentation demanded above on or before August 26, 2024, my office will be recommending filing litigation in the California Superior Court, seeking any and all available legal remedies.”
Here’s how that breaks down, according to the letters:
“The County hereby demands that your client, VAS, and its officers: (1) return funds the County provided to VAS through contracts administered by [OC Community Resources]; (2) submit reports required under ‘District Discretionary Funds Contracts’ as identified below" and preserve all records about the funding, states the letter to VAS.
The contracts referenced in the first demand add up to $4.2 million, and to $6.2 million in the second demand, according to the letter and other county records. The county is demanding full refund of the first category, and a refund of any money in the second category that wasn’t spent as the contracts required.
“The County has been demanding documentation for months from VAS,” notes the letter signed by Page.
“VAS has failed to provide any documentation or support to alleviate the County’s belief that VAS is in material breach of these contracts.”
The letter adds that the nonprofit recently fired its auditors the day after they announced they’d be finding the group failed to document what happened with the money.
[Read the county’s latest letter to Viet America Society and the letter to Hand to Hand Relief Organization.]
Where things stand with VAS
The letters signed by Page were issued the day after VAS’ attorney, Sterling Scott Winchell, told the OC Register that VAS had no plans to return any money. He told the OC Register that they rejected the county’s prior refund demand of $2.2 million because the work contracted for had been done. “There’s no way they’re getting that money back,” Winchell told the Register.
Last month in an interview with LAist, Winchell said VAS was working to locate invoices from vendors and create documentation, saying “they haven’t kept the normal accounting for what they’ve done.”
Requests for comment were not returned Wednesday night by Winchell, VAS’ founder Peter Pham, Hand to Hand’s leader Thanh Huong Nguyen, Supervisor Do or his chief of staff Chris Wangsaporn. Do has previously denied wrongdoing in interviews with other media outlets and public statements.
His daughter Rhiannon Do, now 23, previously told LAist her involvement with VAS was limited. She did not respond to requests to explain why she was listed in public records as having leadership roles with the group.
What OC officials say in the latest demands
The new demand letter to VAS states that the group falsely assured the county that it was providing auditors with everything they needed to determine if the money was spent properly.
“Throughout this process, VAS represented that it was in the process of, or had, provided the necessary information and supporting documentation to the audit firm it hired to complete a single audit,” the letter states.
“Despite VAS’s representations, the County learned in July 2024 that VAS’s auditor had been prevented from completing its audit because VAS had failed to provide the auditor with significant amounts of information,” it adds.
Then, the letter states the auditors informed the county on July 23 “that due to VAS’s lack of controls, records, or verifiable information, the audit firm would not be able to complete a proper audit” and would issue negative findings.
The next day, VAS fired the auditors, which “prevented the County from determining the extent of VAS’s performance,” the letter states.
It notes the county recently issued findings that VAS improperly accounted for funds, failed to keep required records, failed to provide proof that it performed the required services, paid “questionable and unexplained expenses,” and improperly used subcontractors.
The new letter to VAS concludes by quoting Winchell telling the L.A. Times of the money given to VAS: “If you don’t do the job, you’re not getting 5 cents.”
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.
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, Aug. 13. 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.
