Do Must Go
As reported by the LAist in late 2023, Supervisor Andrew Do failed to publicly disclose his family connection when he allocated over $13 million in contracts to Warner Wellness Center, a nonprofit where his daughter served as president, including when its parent nonprofit “was not a legally registered nonprofit.”
As the Supervisor for District 1, where the largest concentration of Vietnamese community members reside, Do holds one of the most powerful seats in local government.
After numerous incidents of lack of governmental transparency, repeated abuses of power, and violations of ethical governance, we called on the OC Board of Supervisors to accept Supervisor Do’s resignation, initiate an investigation and audit into Do’s actions and use of public funds, and pass Board policy changes to strengthen public trust and government transparency.
The public has an undeniable right to timely disclosure of the full extent of Supervisor Do’s potential ethics violations. Justice delayed only deepens the impact of these abuses of power.
On November 30, 2023, VietRISE, Harbor Institute for Immigrant and Economic Justice, NDLON, and OC Justice Fund called for Andrew Do’s resignation. Over 480 residents have signed the call for him to resign.
Throughout the subsequent year, we heavily mobilized to advance county-level reforms that would change the county’s current conflict of interest policies and enhance government transparency. Additionally, we raised our community’s awareness of Do’s corruption to put pressure on county officials to take action.
In October 2024, Do resigned after the initiation of a federal investigation into his corruption.
He also pleaded guilty to a “bribery scheme that enriched himself and his family anywhere from $550,000 to over $700,000 in federal COVID bailout money meant to feed the elderly.”
What’s next? Will there be any accountability for this corruption?
According to the Voice of OC, Do is slated to be sentenced on March 31, 2025. “His guilty plea ends any option for appeal or a further criminal trial, but it remains unclear when he will be sentenced, with prosecutors saying his charges could carry a maximum of five years in prison along with financial penalties.”
Meanwhile, Do’s daughter Rhiannon Do could avoid criminal charges. She signed a diversion agreement with prosecutors admitting to her part in the bribery scheme – including buying a house with the federal bailout dollars – while agreeing to fully cooperate with the investigation.
We believe these consequences don’t come close to fitting the severity of the crime and corruption. Community members have lost their savings, their livelihoods, and their homes. Orange County residents deserve real justice for the harm Andrew Do and his conspirators have caused.
Read More
- LAist – OC sues nonprofit it says ‘brazenly plundered’ millions in public money directed to it by Supervisor Andrew Do
- OC Register – For the people, not personal gain: Why Andrew Do must resign
- LAist – OC Supervisor Andrew Do quietly routed millions more to his daughter’s group
- LAist – 5 Takeaways from Former OC Supervisor Andrew Do’s Guilty Plea
OUR MISSION
VietRISE advances social justice and builds power with working-class Vietnamese and immigrant communities in Orange County. We build leadership and create systemic change through organizing, narrative change, cultural empowerment, and civic engagement.
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