Federal agents on Thursday searched the family home of O.C. Supervisor Andrew Do and his wife — O.C. Superior Court Assistant Presiding Judge Cheri Pham — as well as a home owned by their daughter Rhiannon Do.
Investigation timeline
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Since late last year, Nick Gerda has been investigating millions of taxpayer funds directed to a nonprofit run off and on by an Orange County supervisor's daughter. LAist reports:
- Nov. 22: O.C. Supervisor Andrew Do was involved in directing $3.1 million to a mental health center where his 22 year-old daughter, Rhiannon Do, was president.
- Dec. 18: Records show missing audits for $4 million in taxpayer funding earmarked to provide meals for seniors and people with disabilities.
- Jan. 22: County records show Do directed an additional $6.2 million in taxpayer dollars to his daughter’s group without publicly disclosing the family ties.
- Feb. 16: O.C. officials say millions in funding were unaccounted for by the group and warned it could be forced to repay the funds.
- March: O.C. officials say they are scrambling to understand what’s happening at the county-funded nonprofit after layoffs were announced and then rescinded. The nonprofit misses a deadline to provide proof about how funding for meals were spent.
- August: O.C. officials demand a refund of more than $3 million in public funds awarded by Do to VAS and another nonprofit, Hand to Hand. Days after LAist broke that news, county officials expanded demands for refunds or proof to millions more dollars — and threatened to sue.
- Aug 15: O.C. sues VAS and five named defendants alleging they'd 'blazenly plundered' public funds. The lawsuit says the county had been harmed no less than $10.4 million.
- Aug. 22: FBI agents search multiple locations tied to VAS, including Rhiannon Do's home.
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Latest developments
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Chris Wangsaporn, Supervisor Andrew Do's chief of staff, resigned Thursday, effective immediately. LAist reported this week on a $275,000 contract paid out to his then-girlfriend, now wife. County officials said the work was never turned in. -
Rhiannon Do faces a “threat of criminal prosecution,” as do other leaders of the nonprofit Viet America Society, according to a state court filing by a lawyer representing the group's leaders in a civil fraud lawsuit.
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O.C. Supervisor Andrew Do told a mental health nonprofit based in Irvine to hire the woman, according to multiple people briefed on the contract.
LAist investigates
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Top OC official helped direct millions to his daughter’s center without disclosing family connectionOver the past year, Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do was involved in directing $3.1 million to a mental health center where his daughter, Rhiannon Do, was president.
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It’s the second high-profile instance to emerge recently of O.C. Supervisor Andrew Do not disclosing a relevant family relationship during official proceedings.
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Records show the missing audits are for $4 million in taxpayer funding earmarked to provide meals for seniors and people with disabilities.
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County records obtained by LAist show O.C. Supervisor Andrew Do directed an additional $6.2 million in taxpayer dollars to his 22-year-old daughter’s group without publicly disclosing the family ties.
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New county letters obtained by LAist find that a nonprofit led by an O.C. supervisor’s 22-year-old daughter has failed to prove what it did with more than $4 million intended to feed needy residents during the pandemic.
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Orange County officials say they are scrambling to understand what’s happening at a county-funded nonprofit led by O.C. Supervisor Andrew Do’s 22 year-old daughter. The county says the group has failed to account for millions in taxpayer dollars.
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Supervisor Andrew Do directed millions to the group, which was supposed to go toward feeding needy residents. “If they can’t prove then they should pay the money back,” Supervisor Katrina Foley told LAist.
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Deadline extended for nonprofit with ties to OC supervisor to account for millions in taxpayer fundsViet America Society has been given more time after a pair of county deadlines came and went earlier this month.
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Reaction to LAist reporting
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"Political corruption is unacceptable," said one lawmaker backing the bill. -
The bill would bar local and state officials from voting on contracts that benefitted close relatives.
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An LAist investigation into Supervisor Andrew Do is creating waves in the Vietnamese American community that helped him win the county's highest office.
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Sarmiento is calling for changes in how Orange County awards contracts after LAist reports that his colleague Andrew Do failed to disclose that his daughter ran a nonprofit that received millions of taxpayer dollars.
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“The public's trust is being eroded by people who abuse the process,” Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento told LAist.
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The ethics proposal deadlocked among O.C. supervisors 2-to-2. O.C. Supervisor Andrew Do, who directed millions to his daughter’s nonprofit without publicly disclosing the connection, was absent for the vote.
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