ORANGE COUNTY, California (NV) – Two lawsuits filed by Orange County, accusing two nonprofit organizations and several individuals in the Vietnamese community of embezzling COVID-19 funds, were transferred to a San Diego County court for processing, according to The Orange County Register on August 22.
Rhiannon Do, daughter of Supervisor Andrew Do, who represents District 1 on the Orange County Board of Supervisors, is one of those named in this civil lawsuit.
The lawsuits, one against the Viet America Society (VAS) and several others associated with the organization, and one against the nonprofit Hand to Hand Relief Organization (H2H), filed in the California Superior Court in Orange County were merged and transferred to this court in San Diego County.
The case will be handled by Judge Katherine A. Bacal, according to court records.
The filing seen by OCR did not say why the case was moved, but Judge Cheri Pham, the wife of Supervisor Andrew Do and mother of Rhiannon Do, is currently an assistant presiding judge at the Orange County courthouse.
Cheri Pham, who was supposed to be the court’s chief justice, told her colleagues in July that she would not accept the court’s top job in an internal election in October, according to OCR. She did not give a reason.
“After careful consideration, I have decided not to seek reelection to this position,” Chief Justice Cheri Pham wrote to her colleagues in a July 1 email.
“This decision was not an easy one. It has been an honor to serve on the court as an assistant presiding judge… I look forward to continuing my service to the court and to the community.”
According to the Voice of OC website on August 7, an associate presiding judge of the Supreme Court typically runs unopposed for the position of presiding judge. Voice of OC did not know the last time an associate presiding judge did not run for reelection because the court does not keep records on the matter.
Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento (District 2) said he wants the case to be heard in Orange County because it involves local tax dollars, according to OCR.
“However, I understand that there may be other factors that require the case to be transferred to another jurisdiction to ensure a fair and impartial trial,” Mr. Sarmiento said.
Supervisor Don Wagner (District 3), chairman of the Board of Supervisors, said he believes the San Diego court will hear the case “quickly.”
“I still hope that all of the defendants can prove that the money they received was used to help people in need as required by the contract,” Wagner said. “If not, what they should do is promptly return the money.”
On August 15, Orange County filed a lawsuit against VAS, accusing members of using COVID-19 relief funds for “personal gain,” including purchasing six homes, including one in Tustin purchased by Rhiannon Do for $1,035,000 in 2023, according to the lawsuit.
In addition to Mr. Peter Pham (VAS chairman) and Ms. Rhiannon Do, Orange County also sued Mr. Dinh Mai (VAS secretary), and Ms. Vu Thi Thu Thao (Aloha Financial Investment, Inc. employee and owner of Perfume River Restaurant, Westminster), along with VAS and Aloha Financial Investment, Inc.
According to LAist on August 25, based on the receipt obtained by the media agency, Ms. Thao lives in the same house with Mr. Peter Pham.
On August 20, Orange County also filed a lawsuit against H2H and Ms. Nguyen Thanh Huong, the organization’s general director.
LAist quoted Supervisor Katrina Foley (District 5) as saying that according to the lawsuit, Orange County gave H2H $3 million during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide food for seniors, and accused the organization of using that money to pay off debts.
The organization was accused of transferring money to Nguyen Thanh Huong’s businesses, paying rent to Aloha Financial Investment, Inc., and withdrawing “large amounts of cash.”
Not only that, Ms. Foley’s office also accused H2H of transferring more than $600,000 in pandemic subsidies to VAS as a subcontractor.
According to the two lawsuits, these organizations and individuals embezzled while using $13.5 million that the county “poured” into aid for the poor, mainly through decisions and votes of Supervisor Andrew Do.
Mr. Andrew Do was criticized for not disclosing his daughter’s leadership role in VAS, even though this did not violate county and state regulations.
On August 22, the FBI and several law enforcement agencies searched the homes of Andrew Do and Cheri Pham in North Tustin, Rhiannon Do’s home in Tustin, Peter Pham’s home in Garden Grove, Perfume River Restaurant in Westminster, and Andrew Do’s personal office in Huntington Beach. (DD)