Southern California official to resign and plead guilty in COVID funds investigation

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A high-ranking elected official in Orange County, California, has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery as part of a scheme involving a charity and the misuse of COVID-19 relief funds, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Orange County First District Supervisor Andrew Do will also resign his position, District Attorney Todd Spitzer said during a joint news conference with federal prosecutors.

“Mr. Do unequivocally broke the trust of the public,” Spitzer said. It is the first conviction of an Orange County supervisor in 50 years, according to Spitzer.

The case comes after federal agents raided the home of Andrew Do and his daughter, Rhiannon Do, in a long-running investigation into the alleged misuse of public funds. Rhiannon Do will not face criminal charges and is cooperating with the investigation, officials said.

Paul S. Meyer, an attorney for Andrew Do, said: “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.”

Orange County — which is home to 3 million people between Los Angeles and San Diego — filed a civil lawsuit this year claiming a local nonprofit, Viet America Society, misused funds it received during the coronavirus pandemic to feed the elderly and disabled. Instead, the county claims, the nonprofit’s executives used nearly $10 million to buy property.

U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said Andrew Do signed an agreement to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery in connection with a far-reaching scheme to take federal funding to feed disabled and elderly residents during the pandemic and use it for personal gain. Do agreed to resign his post on the board of supervisors as part of the deal, Estrada said.

Andrew Do publicly touted a meals program for his constituents, but of the more than $9 million funneled to Viet America Society, only 15% of it was used for that purpose, Estrada said.

Federal authorities seized $2.4 million in connection with the probe, according to prosecutors. Andrew Do agreed to forfeit any interest in that money and two homes in Orange County, Estrada said.

Do’s wife is a sitting judge in Orange County. Estrada declined to answer reporters’ questions about whether she was implicated in the scheme. Estrada said the investigation was ongoing.

Supervisor Katrina Foley said she was “disgusted by the staggering level of corruption, greed, and deception described in the federal indictments.”

“Andrew Do and his enablers must pay the price for their crimes against the people of Orange County,” Foley said in a statement Tuesday.

Andrew Do, a Republican, was a Vietnamese refugee before becoming a prosecutor and city councilmember and then winning a seat to represent the county’s residents on the five-person board of supervisors.