In a new lawsuit, Orange County alleges that 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.
Last week, county officials demanded that the 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 further than accusing the nonprofit and its executives of failing to track how money was spent. Instead, they accused the organization's executives of using taxpayer money as “funding streams” for “their own personal bank accounts.”
Instead of feeding the elderly and needy during the pandemic as required by their contracts, the lawsuit alleges that Viet America Society, or VAS, “blatantly looted these funds for its own personal benefit.”
“VAS cannot account for where the money went, when and where it was spent, and/or whether it was spent for contractual purposes,” the lawsuit states. “Defendants engaged in self-dealing, appropriating local and federal funds.”
The lawsuit accuses VAS CEO Peter Ahn Pham, Secretary Dinh Mai and other executives of breach of contract, intentional misrepresentation, fiduciary negligence, conspiracy and unjust enrichment, among other allegations.
He also accuses Rhiannon Do of profiting from the alleged scheme and buying a million-dollar home in the process.
LAist was first to report that Supervisor Do ordered or voted to order up to $13.5 million to VAS without disclosing that his then-22-year-old daughter was linked to the group.
Former VAS attorney Sterling Scott Winchell had previously downplayed Do’s role at the nonprofit, telling The Times that she was not a leader at the organization and “just worked there making meal plans.”
However, in the lawsuit, the county supervisor's daughter is described as an officer of VAS, either as president or vice president. At one point, according to the lawsuit, she identified herself as the nonprofit's executive director and participated in directors' meetings.
“This lawsuit is a disgrace,” Mark S. Rosen, a lawyer for VAS, said in a statement. “VAS provided all the goods and services, but initially failed to keep accurate records.”
In the statement, Rosen said the lawsuit was politically motivated and insisted that VAS had fulfilled its obligations under the contracts.
“My client continues to provide food and deliver to the poor and disabled,” the statement reads. “You are all welcome to come and see how it works. And they keep excellent records today.”
He also claimed the lawsuit contains several factual errors, including 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 Orange County highlights the rampant abuse of taxpayer funds to enrich well-connected individuals instead of feeding vulnerable seniors in the Vietnamese community,” Supervisor Katrina Foley said in a statement. “These allegations show blatant deceit and the greed of individuals motivated solely by self-enrichment.”
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 that VAS submitted general invoices as “Services for the Orange County Nutrition Gap Program” that lacked all required details, such as when or how many meals were delivered.
VAS hired a firm, Pun Group, to conduct an audit and provide it to the county. In July, Pun Group officials told the county that VAS had not provided enough information to complete the audit, that the nonprofit lacked internal controls, and that the next report would describe the difficulties Pun Group faced in attempting to conduct the audit. The next day, VAS terminated its contract with Pun Group.
In a statement, Rosen said he provided the county with a letter on Aug. 12 and an analysis from a certified public accounting firm, Buu D. Nguyen CPA, detailing VAS's accounting.
The report, Rosen said, found that VAS met its contractual obligations but lacked internal controls due to staff shortages.
According to the letter, Buu D. Nguyen conducted an analysis of VAS's finances in January. The analysis is not mentioned in the complaint.
In an earlier interview, Winchell said VAS hired a firm he declined to name to complete the audit after Pun Group was fired in July. It is unclear whether 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 for the money back “a political witch hunt.”
Rosen also criticized the way the county had checked to see if promised meals had been delivered, saying the county’s review of 275 participants was too small. He questioned the county’s use of bilingual investigators and argued that many participants would not cooperate with investigators because of their prior experience with the communist government in Vietnam.
The county alleges that executives at the nonprofit spent the money at companies controlled by VAS executives or close associates.
In April, May, June and July 2021, for example, a company called 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 lawsuit.
However, the suit alleges that the companies failed to provide the services claimed on the invoices. It also alleges that Pham, VAS’s CEO, has an ownership interest in Perfume River Restaurant & Lounge and that Aloha also operated as Perfume River Restaurant & Lounge.
In 2022 and 2024, Thinh Nguyen was appointed as CFO of VAS. In 2023, he was appointed as CEO and CFO of Aloha.
The companies, the lawsuit alleges, “were used as a mere front for the individual defendants’ unlawful conduct.”
Between 2021 and 2024, the county alleges, VAS transferred some of its assets to Pham, Do and Mai, who then purchased properties in Garden Grove, Buena Park, Santa Ana, Fountain Valley and Tustin.
Among those purchases, Do's daughter reportedly purchased a three-bedroom home in Tustin in July 2023. According to real estate site Redfin, that home was purchased that month for $1,035,000.
