The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday to censure Andrew Do amid a federal investigation into a nonprofit his daughter is connected to.
Do’s home and law firm were among several properties raided by the FBI and IRS in August as part of a probe into the Viet America Society’s alleged misuse of millions in public funds. Do directed taxpayer money to VAS without disclosing that his daughter Rhiannon was involved in the nonprofit.
Orange County filed a lawsuit against Rhiannon Do and several other VAS leaders, alleging that the organization plundered over $10 million in pandemic relief funds meant to feed seniors and struggling families and used it to buy five houses.
While Andrew Do wasn’t named as a defendant in the lawsuit, Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento told KNX News’ Emily Valdez that the contracts at the center of the scandal came from his office.
“Everything that's emanated from his office has now brought forth these raids on properties,” he said.
Supervisor Katrina Foley said the VAS contracts may not have been the only incident of misconduct from Do’s office.
“We're learning that for years, the supervisor has been contracting with friends and family members and issuing contracts in violation of the contract policy manual by just being shy of the threshold requirement,” she said.
Do was removed from various county committees and commissions earlier this month. He hasn’t attended the past three board meetings, and Sarmiento said it appears he has “no plans to return.”
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While the Board of Supervisors doesn’t have the power to remove Do from office, Sarmiento said the symbolic gesture of censure was an important step to show that the board takes the allegations seriously.
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