Federal agents on Thursday raided the homes of Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do and his daughter as well as several other properties in an investigation into the improper use of taxpayer money.
At least five locations were searched as part of allegations leveled against the local nonprofit Viet America Society in a lawsuit brought by Orange County. The county blamed the nonprofit for misappropriating money to feed the elderly and poor during the pandemic. Officials with the FBI, the Justice Department and the Orange County district attorney’s office confirmed they were involved in the search but declined to elaborate on what investigators were looking for because the investigation is ongoing and the warrant is sealed.
The lawsuit, filed August 15, accuses executives with the nonprofit, including Chief Executive Peter Ahn Pham, Secretary Dinh Mai, and Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do’s daughter, 23-year-old Rhiannon Do, pocketing more than $10 million in contracts and using funds to buy homes in Garden Grove, Buena Park, Santa Ana, Fountain Valley and Tustin.
Among the homes they are looking for is a property in the Tustin area that, according to the lawsuit, was purchased by the county supervisor’s daughter on July 23, 2023. According to the real estate site Redfin, the home was purchased for $1,035,000.
IRS agents were seen leaving a single-story home in North Tustin that was not joined by a box, leading them through rosebushes and lemon trees to await federal vehicles.
Some Do county supervisors are supporting a federal investigation.
“Federal investigators answered our call to investigate potential criminal activity by VAS and its principal,” Supervisor Katrina Foley said in a statement. “The concerns raised by our County staff are clear, and I support all efforts to bring justice to the taxpayers.”
Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento said in a statement that he “encourages that the investigative agency is working on this.”
Supervisor Do did not immediately return a request for comment.
Mark S. Rosen, an attorney representing Pham, Rhiannon Do, and the Viet America Society, said he was notified early Thursday by FBI agents of the search warrant. Soon, he learned agents were standing outside the Garden Grove home of the nonprofit’s chief executive around 9 a.m., waiting for a warrant to be approved.
FBI agents “were at the door,” Rosen said. “They’re waiting for a search warrant to come in.”
Agents are also looking at a restaurant in which Pham has a stake, Perfume River Restaurant & Lounge in Westminster, Rosen said.
A person at the restaurant, which specializes in Vietnamese food and is located in the Asian Garden Mall in Little Saigon, said the agent was there early in the morning. The business has been open for three or four years, people said.
Agents at various locations searched Thursday seizing documents and electronic devices, including Pham’s cell phone. Rosen said. He added that he and his client were not informed of the nature of the investigation. There were no arrests.
“He wanted to tell me a little bit,” he said.
In an interview with The Times after the search, Pham said the situation was a “misunderstanding” and agents took his cell phone and documents from his home.
“I didn’t do anything wrong,” Pham said.
He added that his nonprofit has accomplished what the county asked for: feeding needy residents. He also said he is opening a health center in Huntington Beach to serve community members, many of whom are struggling during the pandemic. But the district told them they couldn’t use the funds for that purpose, he said.
Before Orange County sued the Viet America Society last week, the county demanded that the nonprofit recover millions of dollars after the organization failed to show it had performed the work it was contracted to do.
In July, the nonprofit fired an outside company hired to audit its spending after the firm told the county VAS “there is no internal control, it does not follow federal uniform guidelines,” and it does not have the necessary records to conduct an audit trail. The call for the organization to return the funds came shortly after.
LAist was the first to report that Do directed or chose to direct $13.5 million to the nonprofit starting in 2020 and failed to disclose that his daughter Rhiannon had been connected to the group.
The scandal led to legislation requiring elected officials to disclose or not vote on contracts involving relatives.
State Senate Bill 1111, authored by Sen. Dave Min (D-Irvine), awaits Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature after being approved by the Legislature.
“It is absolutely unacceptable for elected officials to lie, cheat and steal taxpayers’ money,” Min said in a statement. “I am glad that the FBI is investigating this serious allegation of public corruption, and I hope this news will give the Governor even more motivation to sign anti-corruption legislation into law.”
Rhiannon Do has been listed as a VAS officer in government filings, but officials and lawyers for the organization have since downplayed her role, saying she does not have a leadership position in the non-profit. Do have left VAS.
But in the county’s lawsuit, officials accused Pham and Rhiannon Do of stealing money from the nonprofit into “their own personal bank accounts” and “misappropriating (the) funds for their own personal gain.”
Rosen called Thursday’s strike “wise and foolish” and said, “The county is jeopardizing an existing contract.”
Rosen said VAS continues to feed the homeless, elderly and needy under its contract with the county, despite lawsuits and an apparent criminal investigation, but said it’s getting tougher.
“This interferes with VAS’s ability to serve people in need,” he said.
Local officials have asked the district attorney’s office, the California attorney general’s office, and the Department of Justice to come in and investigate for several days.
On August 14, U.S. Rep. Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) wrote a letter to U.S. Atty. General Merrick Garland asked federal investigators to step in.
“I am asking your Department to investigate this matter to determine whether any federal laws were broken or federal funds were misused,” he wrote. “These allegations of improper oversight and questionable, and possibly illegal, use of federal funds intended for vulnerable people should be taken seriously and dealt with promptly.”
On Friday, Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley and her staff also reached out to California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta on the show, asked if the state agency would investigate, Alyssa Napuri, Foley’s spokeswoman told The Times.
