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Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do is facing federal charges of corruption – something federal officials say he’s agreed to plead guilty to.
He also agreed to resign from the Orange County Board of Supervisors.
Do was charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office Tuesday morning at the Ronald Reagan courthouse in Santa Ana.
During a Tuesday morning news conference at the Ronald Reagan Courthouse in Santa Ana, the U.S. District Attorney’s office said Do was charged with and agreed to plead guilty to a conspiracy to commit bribery.
“Mr. Do made sure the money went to this group,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said Tuesday. “Of the $9.3 million that was sent to Viet America Society, only 15% was used for that purpose. The rest was stolen and used for bribes.”
Click here to read the plea agreement.
“As a member of the Orange County Board Of Supervisors, Mr. Do had great authority,” Estrada said, adding he didn’t disclose his daughter worked there.
He also said Do and his family received $700,000 of the COVID bailout funds.
Estrada said Do could face a maximum of 5 years in prison.
“He threw it all away to enrich himself and his family,” Estrada said. “He’s also agreed today to resign from the Orange County Board of Supervisors.”
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer echoed some of Estrada’s comments.
“We have the largest population of Vietnamese Americans living outside of the country of Vietnam in Orange County,” Spitzer said. “It’s a stand up community and Mr. Do emerged out of the flames of Saigon to become a leader of the community and he completely betrayed that trust and that’s why we’re here today.”
Spitzer said it’s the first time in 50 years an Orange County Supervisor has pleaded guilty to such corruption charges.
Do’s attorney, Paul Meyer, said it’s still too early to comment on the situation.
“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,” Meyer said in an email statement.
In response to questions from reporters, Estrada said OC Superior Court Assistant Presiding Judge Cheri Pham – Do’s wife – isn’t facing charges.
But, officials say the investigation is ongoing and wouldn’t comment further.
Estrada also said Do’s daughter, Rhiannon Do, signed a diversion agreement with federal prosecutors – admitting to criminal conduct, but won’t be charged. But, she has agreed to fully cooperate with the federal investigation.
The charges come after Do’s house was raided by the FBI in August.
It also comes after county lawyers sued his daughter and the nonprofit she helped lead – Viet America Society – in civil court, accusing nonprofit officials of embezzling millions of tax dollars and buying homes, including one for Do’s daughter.
[Read: Orange County Sues County Supervisor’s Daughter and Nonprofit Over Missing COVID Money]
“Defendants saw the opportunity and conspired to embezzle pandemic relief funds by executing contracts that they never intended to perform,” county lawyers wrote in their suit filed August.
Now, Rhiannon Do is slated to give up the Tustin house, according to her diversion agreement filing.
Estrada said federal prosecutors began looking into the controversy after media reports.
While he didn’t name an outlet, LAist was the first publication to report the connection between Do and Viet America Society.
A Voice of OC investigation found that Do continued sending money to the nonprofit even after county staff had begun raising red flags, approving over $6 million in contracts with them through his discretionary funds.
[Read: OC Staff Raised Early Concerns on Viet America Society Contract That Saw FBI Raids]
Do had refused to resign following the raid, despite a weeks-long campaign from fellow supervisors, city council members and the public demanding he step aside after his colleagues censured him.
[Read: OC Supervisors Censure Colleague Under Federal Investigation]
Do’s plea agreement caps off a nearly two decade stint in local politics that saw repeated investigations into his conduct.
Last November, Do failed to disclose that his wife was a judge when he was called to speak as a witness at a trial, which triggered a controversial mistrial.
He resigned his seat last year on the board of CalOptima, Orange County’s public health plan for the poor, amidst a state audit over executive pay hikes and other hiring practices that raised questions over a program he was involved with.
[Read: Top Official Resigns From OC’s Health Plan for the Poor Following Revelations of State Probe]
In 2022, he was fined $12,000 by state regulators for trying to steer public lobbying contracts to his campaign donors.
[Read: Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do Faces $12,000 State Fine Over ‘Pay to Play’ Politics]
Do has faced questions for years over whether he even lives in the district he represents, questions which are now circulating again after federal agents raided a house he owns outside of his district.
[Read: OC Supervisor Andrew Do Accused of Residency Fraud Again as He Runs for Re-Election]
He also faced investigations from state agencies in 2020 over whether or not he used his campaign accounts to launder money, but he was later cleared due to there being insufficient evidence he broke the law.
[Read: State Launches Money Laundering Investigation into Andrew Do and OC Republican Party]
State leaders also passed new rules banning elected officials from sending out taxpayer funded mailers with their names on it 60 days before an election after Do spent $1.2 million on mailers to voters in his district in 2016, which state regulators did not pursue charges on.
[Read: State Will Not Pursue Enforcement Over Do’s 1.2 Million Taxpayer-Funded Mailers]
That investigation also came as there were questions about how Do’s then chief of staff Brian Probolsky was working full time on the supervisor’s reelection campaign while receiving a county salary.
[Read: Ethics Experts Question Campaign Work by Supervisor’s Top Aide]
Do also was investigated by the DA’s office in 2017, but no charges were ever filed, according to a legal complaint from a former DA investigator at the time.
[Read: DA’s Former Top Investigator Seeks Records of Pulido, Do, and Nguyen Probes]
Before his time on the board of supervisors, Do served on the Garden Grove City Council but resigned in 2011 amidst questions over whether or not he lived in the city.
[Read: Santana: OC Supervisor Andrew Do’s Political Journey That Ended in FBI Raids]
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