Andrew Do, once one of Orange County’s most prominent Vietnamese American political leaders, was sentenced Monday to five years in federal prison for a bribery scheme that funneled pandemic relief funds to his own family’s accounts.
U.S. District Judge James Selna, who handed down the maximum sentence allowed under the plea deal, called Do’s conduct “despicable,” stating in court that “public corruption brings damage far beyond the monetary loss to the county,” the Los Angeles Times reported. Selna also expressed frustration that the sentence could not be extended, saying, “I just do not believe a sentence anything less than the maximum reflects the seriousness of the crime.”
Do, 62, pleaded guilty last year to directing more than $10 million in COVID-era contracts to a nonprofit where his daughter worked. Prosecutors say he personally benefited from more than $550,000 in misappropriated funds.
The nonprofit at the center of the scheme, the Viet America Society (VAS), was awarded contracts meant to provide meals to elderly and disabled residents in Little Saigon. But prosecutors say the organization spent just 15% of the funds (about $1.4 million) on actual food programs. The rest, they allege, was funneled through shell companies or paid directly to Do’s daughters.
NBC Los Angeles reported that Do’s daughter Rhiannon, a law student, received more than $220,000 from VAS between 2021 and 2024. In 2023, prosecutors said nearly $400,000 from the nonprofit was placed in escrow for her to buy a $1 million home in Tustin. Another daughter received $100,000. Do himself used thousands of dollars to pay property taxes and credit card debt.
Do, a former prosecutor and public defender, had long styled himself as a public servant shaped by adversity. He came to the U.S. as a refugee from Vietnam and rose through local politics to represent Orange County’s First District, according to the Voice of OC. Much of his political capital was built from championing homelessness solutions and organizing an annual Tet festival. In court, prosecutors made the case that this background made the crime even more egregious.
To some in the Vietnamese American community, the betrayal cut especially deep. His actions “erodes the already precarious level of trust our community has in the government,” said Mai Nguyen Do of the Harbor Institute for Immigrant and Economic Justice, in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.
Do will likely be incarcerated in the federal prison in Lompoc, California. His daughter Rhiannon entered a diversion agreement but still faces potential further consequences from the state bar.
