“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.”
Andrew Do had already been stripped of his committee assignments and his seat on the Orange County Transportation Authority board.
Orange County residents have demanded answers and accountability.
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.
“This is a day Orange County residents have been waiting for to ensure Supervisor Do is held to account for his misconduct,” County Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento said in a statement .
California, Santa Ana. (CNS) — Prosecutors said Tuesday that Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do, who was under pressure to step down due to an investigation into county funding given to a nonprofit COVID-19 relief organization that hired his daughter, will enter a guilty plea to a federal bribery conspiracy charge and immediately leave his position.
According to the U.S., Do, 62, has consented to enter a guilty plea to a felony charge of conspiracy to commit bribery, acknowledging that he cast votes on the Board of Supervisors starting in 2020 that allocated over $10 million in COVID relief funds to the Viet America Society, where his daughter Rhiannon worked, in exchange for more than $550,000 in bribes. S. Lawyer’s Office.
According to the prosecution, he could spend up to five years behind bars.
According to prosecutors, a portion of the county funds that VAS received were eventually transferred through an unidentified outside business that paid Rhiannon Do $8,000 every month, for a total of $224,000 by February 2024. Prosecutors claimed that Rhiannon Do bought a $1 million house in Tustin with the company’s more than $380,000 transfer to an escrow company. According to the United States, additional funds were transferred back to Andrew Do in order to pay property taxes on properties that he and his spouse owned, and an additional $15,000 was utilized to settle one of Andrew Do’s credit card bills. S. . Lawyer’s Office.
“The defendant betrayed the public’s trust and sold his high office by prioritizing his personal interests over those of his constituents,” U. S. . A statement was released by lawyer Martin Estrada. Even worse, older residents and people with disabilities were the ones who lost the money he embezzled and took as bribes. Our neighborhood deserved much better. Corruption has no place in our political system, and my office will keep holding public officials responsible for their deception. “.
According to authorities, Andrew Do entered into a separate but related plea deal with the Orange County District Attorney’s Office in addition to entering a guilty plea to the federal bribery conspiracy charge. As part of this agreement, he voluntarily resigns from his position as a county supervisor and forfeits any pension credit he accrued while participating in the bribery scheme.
Paul S. Meyer, Andrew Do’s lawyer, stated Tuesday afternoon that “no statement is appropriate at this time out of respect for the legal process.”. It is appropriate, nevertheless, to express Andrew Do’s heartfelt apologies and profound sorrow to his family, his District One constituents, and his coworkers. “.
Rhiannon Do will be permitted to participate in a diversion program since she has consented to cooperate fully with the investigation. She consented to give up the Tustin house, according to the prosecution.
Andrew Do had already lost his seat on the Orange County Transportation Authority board and his committee assignments. Due to their inability to remove him from office, Do’s fellow supervisors also criticized him, with some of them urging his resignation.
In response to Do’s indictment, one of those supervisors, Katrina Foley, wrote on X, “Andrew Do dragged his family and associates into an American Nightmare rather than being a shining example of what the American Dream can accomplish. The astounding degree of deceit, greed, and corruption detailed in the federal indictments disgusts me. “,”.
In a statement, Board Chairman Don Wagner said, “We appreciate the careful and comprehensive investigation conducted by federal law enforcement officials. The people of Orange County have called for accountability and answers. The board has also responded, taking a number of actions to improve oversight and contracting procedures. The federal criminal investigation is the only subject of this indictment. The county is steadfast in its resolve to pursue civil litigation in order to recover misappropriated public funds and hold all accountable parties. “.”.
Questions concerning the COVID-19 relief subcontracts given to the Viet America Society, which hired Do’s daughter, sparked the controversy surrounding Do last year. The controversy erupted in August when the county filed a lawsuit against VAS to recover millions of dollars for unrecorded services related to a pandemic meal delivery program contract.
Although Do was not named in the lawsuit, his daughter was charged with using a portion of the funds to purchase the Tustin house. Do also has ties to VAS chief Peter Pham.
Despite failing to properly account for the services, VAS officials maintained that they prepared and delivered the meals during the pandemic. According to a VAS lawyer, because residents were socially distancing themselves during the pandemic, it was difficult for the agency’s drivers to gather all of the paperwork.
On Friday, Judge Katherine Bacal of San Diego County Superior Court, who was assigned to hear the county’s case because Do’s wife and Rhiannon’s mother is Judge Cheri Pham of Orange County Superior Court, ordered VAS to set aside almost $4.02 million in the event that the county wins its lawsuit.
The Hand to Hand Relief group, which entered into a subcontract with VAS, has also been sued by the county.
In addition to other sites connected to the investigation into suspected financial mismanagement, including Andrew Do’s residence, federal investigators raided the homes of Peter Pham and Rhiannon Do in August.
At the end of the year, Do was supposed to step down from the Board of Supervisors because of term limits.
“The unsealing of the indictments demonstrates years of unethical and illegal acts that directly harmed the most vulnerable in our County,” said County Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento in a statement. “This is a day Orange County residents have been waiting for to ensure Supervisor Do is held to account for his misconduct.”. Until the systemic issues that caused these abuses are fixed and all parties are held accountable, we cannot stop the investigations. “,”.
