In a new lawsuit, Orange County alleges executives at a nonprofit took millions of tax dollars to feed the elderly and needy during the pandemic, then pocketed more than $10 million and bought homes for themselves.
Among the Viet America Society executives named in the lawsuit was Rhiannon Do, daughter of Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do.
County officials last week demanded that Viet America Society return $2.2 million in contract payments after the group suddenly fired auditors and failed to show the county how it spent the money.
In a lawsuit filed Thursday, county officials went beyond accusing the nonprofit and its executives of failing to track how the money was spent. Instead, they accused the executives at the organization of using taxpayer money as “funding streams” for “their own personal bank accounts.”
Rather than feed the elderly and needy during the pandemic as their contracts required, the lawsuit alleges that Viet America Society, or VAS, “brazenly plundered these funds for their own personal gain.”
“VAS cannot account for where the money went, when and where it was spent, and/or whether it was spent on contract purposes,” the lawsuit states. “Defendants engaged in pervasive self-dealing, pocketing local and federal funds.”
The suit accuses VAS Chief Executive Peter Ahn Pham, Secretary Dinh Mai and other executives of breach of contract, intentional misrepresentations, fiduciary negligence, conspiracy and unjust enrichment, among other allegations.
It also accuses Rhiannon Do of benefiting from the alleged scheme and purchasing a million-dollar home in the process.
LAist was first to report that Supervisor Do directed or voted to direct as much as $13.5 million to VAS without disclosing that his then-22-year-old daughter was connected to the group.
Former VAS attorney Sterling Scott Winchell had previously downplayed Do’s role in the nonprofit, telling The Times she wasn’t a leader in the organization and “was just working there doing meal plans.”
In the lawsuit, however, the county supervisor’s daughter is described as an officer of VAS, as either president or vice president. At one point, the suit alleges, she identified herself as executive director of the nonprofit and participated in directors’ meetings.
“This lawsuit is a disgrace,” said Mark S. Rosen, an attorney for VAS, in a statement. “VAS provided all the goods and services, but did not, in the beginning, keep great records.”
In the statement, Rosen said the lawsuit was politically motivated, and he insisted that VAS completed its duties under the contracts.
“My client continues to provide food and delivery for the poor and the disabled today,” the statement reads. “You are all invited to come and see it in action. And they are keeping excellent records today.”
He also claimed the lawsuit contains several factual errors, such as allegations that Pham purchased a home in Buena Park with his wife.
Rosen said Pham is not married, does not know the person named as his wife in the lawsuit, and does not own property in Buena Park.
The allegations outlined in the lawsuit have prompted other members of the Board of Supervisors to call on local, state and federal officials to step in and investigate.
“The lawsuit filed by the County of Orange highlights rampant abuse of taxpayer funds to enrich well-connected insiders instead of feeding vulnerable seniors in the Vietnamese community,” Supervisor Katrina Foley said in a statement. “These allegations show blatant deception and greed by individuals motivated solely to enrich themselves.”
Supervisor Do, through his Chief of Staff Chris Wangsaporn, declined to comment.
The lawsuit alleges that, beginning in 2020, the county awarded VAS more than $10 million in contracts to deliver meals during the pandemic.
When it came time to account for how the money was spent, county officials allege VAS submitted general invoices such as “Services for the County of Orange Nutritional Gap Program” that lacked any of the required details, such as when or how many meals were delivered.
VAS hired a company, Pun Group, to do an audit and provide it to the county. Then in July, Pun Group officials told the county VAS had not provided enough information to complete the audit, that the nonprofit lacked internal controls, and that the forthcoming report would outline the difficulties Pun Group faced in attempting to do the audit. The day after, VAS terminated its contract with Pun Group.
In a statement, Rosen said he delivered to the county a letter on Aug. 12, and an analysis from a certified public accounting firm — Buu D. Nguyen CPA — detailing VAS’ accounting.
The report, Rosen said, found that VAS complied with its contractual obligations, but lacked internal controls because of staffing shortages.
According to the letter, Buu D. Nguyen did an analysis of VAS financials in January. The analysis is not mentioned in the suit.
In a previous interview, Winchell said VAS hired a company that he declined to name to complete the audit after Pun Group was terminated in July. It is unclear if he was referring to Buu D. Nguyen CPA.
Winchell told The Times that as of Monday, he was no longer representing VAS.
In the letter to the county, Rosen called the demand to have money returned “a political witch hunt.”
Rosen also criticized how the county had checked to see whether the promised meals were delivered, saying the county’s review of 275 participants was too small. He questioned whether the county used bilingual investigators, and argued that many participants would not cooperate with investigators because of their past experience with the Communist government in Vietnam.
The county alleges executives at the nonprofit spent the money on companies controlled by VAS executives or close associates.
In April, May, June and July of 2021, for example, a company named Aloha submitted invoices for $100,000 each to VAS. Around the same time, Perfume River Restaurant & Lounge also submitted 12 invoices totaling $108,000, according to the suit.
Those companies did not provide the services claimed in the invoices, however, the lawsuit alleges. It also alleges that Pham, the CEO of VAS, has a stake in Perfume River Restaurant & Lounge, and that Aloha was also doing business as Perfume River Restaurant & Lounge.
In 2022 and 2024, Thinh Nguyen was listed as VAS chief financial officer. In 2023, he was named chief executive and CFO of Aloha.
The companies, the suit alleges, “were used as a mere shell for the wrongful conduct of the individual defendants.”
Between 2021 and 2024, the county alleges, VAS transferred some of its assets to Pham, Do, and Mai, who then bought properties in Garden Grove, Buena Park, Santa Ana, Fountain Valley and Tustin.
Among those purchases, Do’s daughter allegedly purchased a three-bedroom home in Tustin in July 2023. According to the real estate site Redfin, that home was bought that month for $1,035,000.