Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do, who was under pressure to resign amid a probe into county funding provided to a nonprofit COVID-19 relief organization that employed his daughter, will immediately vacate his seat and plead guilty to a federal bribery conspiracy charge, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Do, 62, has agreed to plead guilty to a felony charge of conspiracy to commit bribery, admitting that in exchange for more than $550,000 in bribes, he cast votes on the Board of Supervisors beginning in 2020 that directed more than $10 million in COVID relief funds to the Viet America Society, where his daughter Rhiannon worked, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
He could face up to five years in prison, U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said. He told reporters he anticipates his office will push for the upper end of the punishment included in the federal guidelines.
Do’s attorney, Paul Meyer, said, “Out of respect for the legal process, no statement is appropriate at this time. However, it is appropriate to convey Andrew Do’s sincere apology and deep sadness to his family, to his constituents in District One and to his colleagues.”
Prosecutors said some of the county money received by VAS was ultimately funneled through an unnamed outside company that made monthly $8,000 payments to Rhiannon Do, 23, totaling $224,000 by February 2024. The company also transferred more than $380,000 to an escrow company, and Rhiannon Do used that money to purchase a $1 million home in Tustin, prosecutors said. Other funds were routed back to Andrew Do to make property tax payments on properties owned by him and his wife, while another $15,000 was used to pay one of Andrew Do’s credit card bills, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“In total, Mr. Do and his family received over $700,000 in bribe payments,” Estrada said at a news conference.
Do’s constituents “got a politician, who put his own needs above those of the people in his community,” Estrada said. “… Mr. Do is a representative of the American Dream. He came to this country, he worked hard, achieved success, was elected to public office and threw it all away to enrich himself.”
Estrada said what worsened the corruption was “the people he stole from, the money he took, was meant for those most vulnerable in our community.”
While agreeing to plead guilty to the federal bribery conspiracy charge, Andrew Do also reached a separate but related plea agreement with the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, under which he will immediately step down as a county supervisor and forfeit any pension credit he amassed during the time he was engaged in the bribery scheme since 2020, District Attorney Todd Spitzer said at the news conference.
Rhiannon Do, a third-year UC Irvine law school student, has agreed to fully cooperate with the investigation and will be allowed to enter a diversion program. She agreed to forfeit the home in Tustin, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said another adult daughter of Do’s received $100,000.
Andrew Do also faces a fine of up to $250,000.
According to the plea agreement signed on Friday, prosecutors said the restitution amount that will be required is between $550,000 and $730,000, but could change as the investigation continues.
When asked about anyone else could face charges, Estrada said the investigation is ongoing.
Andrew Do had already been stripped of his committee assignments and his seat on the Orange County Transportation Authority board. Do was also censured by his fellow supervisors, some of whom have been calling for him to resign, since they lacked the power to remove him from office.
At Tuesday’s county board meeting, Supervisor Katrina Foley said, “It is truly so disappointing Andrew Do dragged his family through this, who were literally experiencing the American Dream, that turned into a nightmare.”
She added, “I’m disgusted by the level of corruption. Everyone is working so hard to make ends meet and to see this level of deception and criminal acts of our county funds that are provided by the federal government to serve the low-income elderly in our community who are food insecure it is just outrageous, and I’m pleased the district attorney and U.S. Attorney took these matters extremely seriously, investigated and have received a guilty plea. But this is not over. We still have our case, which is pending and the restitution that is required by the plea agreement will likely go to the federal government, and the county is without those funds we received to benefit our residents. … It is a sad day for our county, but it is also a day for justice.”
Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento said, “This is a historic day, and sometimes we pride ourselves on historic moments, but this isn’t one of them.”
Sarmiento pledged to continue efforts to implement reforms to prevent similar corruption.
“How did one supervisor wield so much power,” Sarmiento said. “We should have guardrails, scrutiny, that we catch those flaws and those problems before the media has to tell us. … It is a very, very sad day in this county, a very sad day for all of us, and unfortunately we have to experience this together, but hopefully this is one day where we can be reflective.”
Board Chairman Don Wagner, who will assume the duties of operating Do’s office going forward, said in a statement, “We are thankful for the thorough and careful investigation carried out by federal law enforcement officials. Orange County residents have demanded answers and accountability. So has the board, taking several steps to address contracting and oversight practices. This (information) only speaks to the federal criminal investigation. The county remains committed to continuing its civil lawsuits in order to hold all responsible parties accountable and to recover misused public funds.”
The firestorm around Do started last year when questions were raised about the COVID-19 relief subcontracts provided to the Viet America Society. The uproar boiled over in August when the county sued VAS in an attempt to claw back millions of dollars for unaccounted-for services tied to a contract for a program to deliver meals to the elderly and needy during the pandemic.
Do was not named in the lawsuit, but his daughter was accused of using some of the money to buy the home in Tustin. Do also has connections to Peter Pham, the head of VAS.
VAS officials insisted they prepared and delivered the meals during the pandemic, but failed to adequately account for the services. An attorney for VAS said its drivers struggled to collect all of the paperwork as residents were engaged in social distancing during the pandemic.
On Friday, San Diego County Superior Court Judge Katherine Bacal — who was appointed to handle the county’s lawsuit because Do’s wife, and Rhiannon’s mother, is Orange County Superior Court Judge Cheri Pham — ordered VAS to set aside nearly $4.2 million in case the county prevails in its lawsuit.
The county has also sued the Hand to Hand Relief organization, which subcontracted with VAS.
Federal investigators in August raided the homes of Peter Pham and Rhiannon Do, along with other locations tied to the probe into alleged misuse of funds, including Andrew Do’s home.
Do had been scheduled to leave the Board of Supervisors due to term limits at the end of the year.
The plea agreement also outlines how prosecutors allege one of the unnamed co-conspirators used an air conditioning company that was paid $256,000 to funnel $100,000 in bribes to Do. That $100,000 was paid to Do’s other daughter by three $25,000 checks from one company and $25,000 from another alleged co-conspirator, prosecutors said.
Of the $9.3 million that went to VAS, only 15%, or about $1.4 million, was used for what it was intended, Estrada said. The government has seized $2.4 million, along with the Tustin home and another home on 17th Street in Santa Ana, Estrada said.
Do touted in online videos that VAS provided 2,700 meals per week, prosecutors said.
It is anticipated Do will enter his plea sometime next week, likely Monday.