The Brief

Orange County supervisors on Tuesday voted 4-0 to censure their fellow board member Andrew Do amid serious questions over what happened to millions in taxpayer funds directed by Do to a little-known nonprofit.

Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento, who brought the resolution forward, said it was "intended to demonstrate our collective condemnation of misconduct demonstrated by Supervisor Do."

"And even under the best light, there are undisputed acts of nepotism, reckless disregard of public funds by a fiduciary and an abrogation of responsibilities by a sitting supervisor," he said.

For a third time in a row, Supervisor Do was not at the board meeting Tuesday.

Supervisor Katrina Foley said at the meeting that not only was the censure warranted, "it's not far enough, given the stain that Supervisor Do has left on his legacy for the County of Orange."

"Supervisor Andrew Do brazenly exploited his position of power to enrich his family and friends under the guise of feeding the elderly, caring for veterans, hosting cultural events, and the list goes on and on," she said. "This criminal minded operation dates back many years."

The supervisors also approved transparency reforms, as well as updates to the current contract policy manual, in response to the Do allegations.

In November 2023, LAist began investigating how millions in public taxpayer dollars were spent. In total, LAist has uncovered public records showing more than $13 million in public money that was approved to Viet America Society (VAS), which records state was led on and off by Rhiannon Do, the now 23-year-old daughter of Supervisor Do. Most of that money was directed to the group by Supervisor Do outside of the public’s view and never appeared on public meeting agendas. He did not publicly disclose his family ties. Much of the known funding came from federal coronavirus relief money.

The censure motion on Tuesday stated that the Board of Supervisors “strongly and publicly” condemn Do for “the reckless judgment and favoritism he has demonstrated in directing millions of dollars” in federal coronavirus dollars and discretionary funds to the nonprofit groups — “organizations with no proven track record” — while not disclosing his familial ties.

Sarmiento, who introduced the item, told LAist before the vote that the formal rebuke allows the supervisors “an opportunity to publicly condemn the actions that we know make it difficult for Supervisor Do to carry out his responsibilities and serve his constituents.”

The supervisors also approved the following measures in an effort to increase transparency:

• A review of all county contracts, including those funded by federal COVID dollars
• A new disclosure policy when it comes to family ties to entities awarded public funds

The internal auditor has 90 days to bring a review of all county contracts to the board. The review is to "ensure all oversight measures are in place for contracts, large and small, and that there is compliance," Foley said.

The updates to the manual will bring the county in line with AB 3130, a new bill signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom that will require county supervisors across the state to disclose any family ties they have to a nonprofit’s employees or officers before awarding any contracts. The new law goes into effect Jan. 1, 2025, and was inspired by LAist reporting.

"These corrective measures are so important because we are that last line of making sure that monies are expended thoughtfully," Sarmiento said.

The supervisors also unanimously approved disclosing whether a nonprofit has filed its 990 with the IRS and if they have performed an audit on agenda staff reports for additional oversight into the nonprofits the county is contracting with.

How we got here

LAist has uncovered more than $13 million in public funds directed by Supervisor Do to Viet America Society. Most of that money came from federal COVID relief funds earmarked to help people during the pandemic. County officials filed a lawsuit against VAS and its leaders, including Rhiannon Do, Supervisor Do’s daughter, alleging they “brazenly plundered” funds Supervisor Do directed to the nonprofit. Supervisor Do is not named as a defendant in the county lawsuit.

In August, LAist broke the news that federal agents searched Rhiannon Do's home in Tustin. Later that day, Supervisor Do's home, and other properties connected to VAS, were also raided.

Supervisor Do has declined to comment dozens of times since LAist first began reporting on the money he directed to Viet America Society.

Attorneys Paul Meyer and Craig Wilke, who represented former Anaheim Mayor Sidhu on federal corruption charges, are now representing Do. They have previously said in a written statement that their client “looks forward to a thorough and fair investigation.”

“Out of respect for the process, there is no further statement that can be made at this time,” they added. “We ask that judgment be reserved by all pending the completion of the investigation.”

The moves on Tuesday came after the supervisors voted earlier this month to remove Supervisor Do from his committee assignments, including his position on the Orange County Transportation Authority Board of Directors.

His board colleagues Katrina Foley and Vicente Sarmiento have also called on him to resign. They have also asked California Attorney General Rob Bonta to intervene and remove him from office.

Catch up on the investigation

In November 2023, LAist began investigating how millions in public taxpayer dollars were spent. In total, LAist has uncovered public records showing more than $13 million in public money that was approved to a little-known nonprofit that records state was led on and off by Rhiannon Do, the now 23-year-old daughter of Supervisor Do. Most of that money was directed to the group by Supervisor Do outside of the public’s view and never appeared on public meeting agendas. He did not publicly disclose his family ties.

Much of the known funding came from federal coronavirus relief money.

• Read the story that launched the investigation here.
• Since LAist started reporting, we’ve also uncovered the group was two years overdue in completing a required audit into whether the meal funds were spent appropriately.
• And LAist found the amount of taxpayer money directed to the nonprofit was much larger than initially known. It totals at least $13.5 million in county funding — tallied from government records obtained and published by LAist. 
• After our reporting, O.C. officials wrote demand letters to the nonprofit saying millions in funding were unaccounted for. They warned the nonprofit that it could be forced to repay the funds.
• And, LAist found the nonprofit missed a deadline set by county officials to provide proof about how funding for meals were spent.
• On Aug. 2, LAist reported O.C. officials were demanding the refund of more than $3 million in public funds awarded by Do to VAS and another nonprofit, Hand to Hand.
• Six days later, LAist reported Orange County officials had expanded demands for refunds of millions in tax dollars from the nonprofits and threatened legal action.
• On Aug. 15, LAist reported O.C. officials sued VAS and its key officers and associated businesses, including Rhiannon Do. The lawsuit alleges that county money was illegally used to purchase five homes and was converted into cash through ATM transactions. 
• Then, on Aug. 19, LAist reported O.C. officials had announced a second lawsuit against Hand to Hand and its CEO to recover millions of taxpayer dollars that were directed by Supervisor Do.
• LAist broke the news on Aug. 22 that federal agents were searching Rhiannon Do's home in Tustin. Later that day, Supervisor Do's home, and other properties, were also raided.

How to watchdog local government

One of the best things you can do to hold officials accountable is pay attention.

Your city council, board of supervisors, school board and more all hold public meetings that anybody can attend. These are times you can talk to your elected officials directly and hear about the policies they’re voting on that affect your community.

• Read tips on how to get involved.
• The next scheduled board meeting is Tuesday, Oct. 8. You can check out the O.C. Board of Supervisors full calendar here.
• Learn how to submit a public comment to the O.C. Board of Supervisors.

Nithya Raman turned the tide in the L.A. mayoral race by winning over large swathes of the city that voted for Karen Bass in 2022, according to an LAist analysis of election data.

Bass was a favorite in many areas that voted for Rick Caruso when she faced him in 2022. She held onto a majority of voters across South L.A., but lost much of her previous support.

The switchup came after Bass — a veteran in progressive politics — took a relatively-conservative approach on issues like policing and high-density housing developments compared to Raman, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.

The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority told its employees Friday to stop work, shut down their computers and stay off agency systems while it looked into “a potential security issue affecting our systems,” its chief executive confirmed to LAist.

That shutdown order was still in place Monday evening, according to a LAHSA official not authorized to speak on the record.

Gita O'Neill, the agency’s interim CEO, told LAist on Friday evening that the agency did not “yet have enough information to say definitively whether any sensitive or confidential personal information was accessed.”

She has not answered questions about whether or not services for unhoused people are disrupted.

Gita O’Neill, interim CEO of LAHSA, speaks ahead of the annual homeless count on Jan. 20, 2026.

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Jordan Rynning

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LAist

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LAHSA holds highly sensitive information collected from people experiencing homelessness in the region. The agency oversees the Homeless Management Information System, or HMIS, which includes unhoused people’s names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and disabilities, as well as self-reported mental health and substance abuse history, income sources and domestic violence history.

In a statement Monday, LAHSA said it had taken its internal computer systems offline “as a precaution” and “engaged outside cybersecurity specialists to investigate the nature and scope of the incident.” The statement, sent on O'Neill's behalf by outside public relations strategist Trevor Daley, continued to call it “a potential cybersecurity incident.”

The agency is “taking steps to maintain essential operations,” the statement added, saying LAHSA “remains open” while the investigation continues. It said the agency is working with its technical and legal teams.

What staff were told

Friday’s email to "Team LAHSA" carried the subject line "URGENT: Log Off and Shut Down for the Week." LAist obtained a copy, and O'Neill confirmed by text message that she had sent it.

“As a precaution while we look into a potential security issue affecting our systems, we're asking all staff to stop work and take their machines offline for the remainder of today and through the weekend,” the email said.

It told employees to “Log off and shut down your LAHSA computer” and not to log back in or connect to LAHSA systems, including email, “until you receive an all-clear from us.”

The email also told staff to report anything “unusual” before shutting down, such as “files renaming on their own, unexpected pop-ups or messages.”

What LAHSA leadership has said

In a texted response to LAist on Friday evening, O'Neill said she asked staff to take their computers offline “out of an abundance of caution” while the agency’s IT team assessed the situation.

“Our IT team is actively reviewing the situation now and working to understand exactly what occurred and whether any information was affected,” she wrote. “Protecting people’s personal and confidential information is a top priority in that review.”

Leaders of three LAHSA-funded service providers told LAist on Monday afternoon that they had not received any communications from LAHSA about the potential cybersecurity issue. All three use the HMIS system that holds unhoused people’s personal details.

Previous attacks against another LA housing agency

Another L.A. housing agency was previously hit by cyberattacks. The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles — a separate agency known as HACLA — has said hackers got inside its network in 2022 and may have accessed people’s names, Social Security numbers, financial accounts numbers and medical information.

Two years later, HACLA was breached again, according to an official notice, with hackers potentially accessing names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and phone numbers.

LAist reporter Aaron Schrank contributed reporting to this story.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath announced Monday that she is running to be the county’s first elected chief executive. Horvath is the only candidate so far to enter the race, which is set for 2028.

The new executive post will take the place of the county’s appointed CEO and implement key priorities of the county Board of Supervisors. The executive will oversee the county budget, which is currently roughly $50 billion, and labor relations with more than 100,000 employees.

Horvath was first elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2022 and was re-elected in June to another four-year term. She represents the county’s 3rd District, which covers the San Fernando Valley and parts of the Westside and Central Los Angeles. She is a former mayor of West Hollywood.

The supervisor made her announcement Monday via social media and her campaign website. She called the race a “once-in-a-generation opportunity.”

The backstory

Voters created the position in 2024 when they approved Measure G, which was proposed by Supervisors Horvath and Janice Hahn.

Among other changes, the measure allowed the Board of Supervisors to expand from five to nine members by 2030 and established an independent Ethics Commission, which held its first meeting last month.

The pushback

On Monday, Supervisor Kathryn Barger issued a statement saying she believed it was “premature” to campaign for the new county executive position when it remained unclear whether “the office itself is constitutional.”

Barger pointed to questions raised by former federal judge Stephen Larson about whether California’s Constitution allows an elected county executive to veto board decisions, control county contracts and take on powers state law currently gives the Board of Supervisors.

“Moving forward with an office that would fundamentally change how Los Angeles County is governed, without first resolving these questions, is putting the cart before the horse,” Barger said in her statement. “We need clarity.”

The primary election is scheduled for March 7, 2028.