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As early as February 2022, staff at the County of Orange were already raising concerns on a multi-million dollar contract – one that ultimately led to a series of FBI raids last week, including Supervisor Andrew Do’s home.
But even as county staff were raising concerns over how the money was being spent, Do gave over $6 million more to the same nonprofit through his discretionary funds, according to public records reviewed by Voice of OC.
The earliest contracts were sent out around the same time county leaders doled out $200 million in contracts that were quickly greenlit, largely behind closed doors, in the early days of the pandemic.
Supervisor Katrina Foley said supervisors weren’t informed about staff’s concerns until much later, and is calling for a new system that would alert supervisors when contractors are out of compliance.
“What I’m asking for at a minimum is that every quarter we get some kind of an update that shows us any contracts that are out of compliance,” Foley said in an interview with Voice of OC. “We just don’t see it because it doesn’t come to the board until it’s like ‘Ok we can’t do anything else.’ I feel like that’s too late.”
County spokesperson Molly Nichelson declined to comment when asked if county staff notify supervisors about problems with contractors before they move forward with contracts via their discretionary funds.
The FBI raids come as county leaders are suing the Viet America Society, trying to uncover how they spent over $10 million they were given to feed the elderly and alleging some of the funds bought houses for the nonprofit’s leaders, including Do’s daughter.
[Read: FBI Executes Searches on OC Supervisor, His Daughter & Others in Missing COVID Money Case]
It comes as Foley said she ordered a review of every contract the county entered into using federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act — federal COVID bailout money.
Foley and Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento are both now demanding Do’s resignation, with Foley asking for California Attorney General Rob Bonta to remove him from office if he won’t go on his own.
“Supervisor Andrew Do shattered public trust and each day his presence on the Board of Supervisors delegitimizes the office in which we sit. Andrew Do must resign,” Foley said in a Monday statement.
“The current situation has created a climate of public distrust that makes it difficult for the Board to conduct the business of the people,” Sarmiento said in a Monday statement. “Supervisor Do should step down now.”
Sarmiento only called for a review of contracts issued by Do, not a countywide effort.
Do did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
Supervisor Doug Chaffee called on his fellow supervisors to stop clamoring for Do’s resignation and let the court settle the issue.
“The Board is not judge or jury and it is our constitutional duty to uphold the principle of separation of powers,” Chafee said in a statement. “This case is now in the hands of the courts. We must let the legal system take its course in a fair and unbiased manner.”
The first internal red flags about the nonprofit surfaced in February 2022, according to scores of public records reviewed by Voice of OC.
Records show staff from the county’s Office of Aging sent a letter to Peter Pham, president of Viet America Society, telling him they’d failed to provide detailed reports on where the money went.
“Although the county has received your invoices through February 2022, the substantiating reports have not been received,” staff wrote, noting the contract had been running since May 2021. “To date no performance reporting has been provided to the County.”
Voice of OC could not find earlier complaints about Viet America Society’s performance in documents released under the California Public Records Act.
Do’s chief of staff, Chris Wangsaporn, was notified of the February letter in 2022 according to county records.
After the February 2022 email, county staff stopped approving new contracts to the Viet America Society, leaving their investment at just over $4 million.
County staff continued questioning the nonprofit’s reports in letters to the nonprofit’s leaders, according to records.
But in December 2022, Do’s office started a new contract with the nonprofit to do the same type of work the county had been paying them to do.
In February 2023, county staff sent multiple letters to the Viet America Society questioning the first contracts they entered into on New Year’s Eve 2020 and May 2021 worth over $4 million, saying they were still missing paperwork on them.
“VAS responded to the engagement letter issued on Feb 24, 2023, and submitted participant and service records on March 17, 2023. However, the documents reviewed do not meet the contractual reporting requirements,” wrote Contracts Monitoring & Program Compliance Manager Elsa Rivera in a February 2024 letter.
“Documents provided do not demonstrate complete evidence of the number of meals delivered, number of participants served, participant eligibility, weekly and monthly performance, and/or additional documentation as evidence of the overall services delivered,” she continued.
As county staff were sending those letters, contracts between Do’s office and the Viet America Society ballooned from $200,000 to over $6 million, most of which went toward contracts to feed the elderly and a Vietnam War memorial at Mile Square Park that isn’t finished yet.
Do also continued supporting Pham, the president of the nonprofit, throughout that time, nominating him for an award from the American Red Cross and continuing to award contracts while questions grew from county staff.
The Board of Supervisors meets today at 9:30 a.m.
At the board’s next meeting in September, Supervisor Don Wagner said he is calling for a vote to strip Do of all his other appointments, but did not call for his resignation.
“I expect unanimous approval when the matter comes forward early next month,” Wagner said.
“(Do) is entitled to the full protections of the law as these cases move forward and I urge against a rush to judgment in these matters, as I do in all legal proceedings,” he said.
He also noted that they would keep a close eye on Do’s discretionary funds while he remains a supervisor, as his term’s up at the end of the year.
“I am also certain that my colleagues and I will not approve any disbursement of additional discretionary First District dollars without a full vetting of any such proposed expenditures.”
Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @NBiesiada.
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