The Brief

Federal agents on Thursday searched the family home of O.C. Supervisor Andrew Do and his wife — O.C. Superior Court Assistant Presiding Judge Cheri Pham — as well as a home owned by their daughter Rhiannon Do and multiple properties connected to an LAist investigation into millions of tax dollars that have gone unaccounted for.

A spokesperson for the IRS Criminal Investigation division confirmed they were involved in the searches along with the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The search warrants were executed for Rhiannon Do’s Tustin home; a North Tustin family home that real estate records show is owned by Cheri Pham and Supervisor Do; a Garden Grove home that public records show is owned by Peter Pham, the founder of Viet America Society (VAS); and a Fountain Valley home that government filings show is the business address for VAS — the nonprofit Orange County officials sued earlier this month for alleged fraud.

A neighbor told an LAist reporter on the scene that over a dozen black cars were parked on the street around the North Tustin house of Supervisor Do and Cheri Pham at the time of the raid.

A federal agent at the family home of O.C. Supervisor Andrew Do and his wife, O.C. Superior Court Assistant Presiding Judge Cheri Pham, on Aug. 22, 2024.

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Adolfo Guzman-Lopez

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LAist

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A spokesperson for the FBI confirmed they served search warrants at the homes. “The affidavit in support of the search warrant is under seal and so we’re prohibited from commenting as to the nature of the case. No arrests planned,” Laura Eimiller said.

Rhiannon Do’s Tustin home was named in the fraud lawsuit filed last week by Orange County officials, calling on VAS to return millions in taxpayer dollars. The lawsuit alleges that a fraud scheme involving Rhiannon Do, other VAS leaders, Aloha Financial Investment and its president Thu Thao Thi Vu, who owns the Fountain Valley home raided Thursday.

Vu’s name also appears on the grant deed for Rhiannon Do’s home purchase, as someone who should receive a copy once it’s officially recorded. Financial records obtained by LAist show that a large portion of county funds sent to VAS were routed to Perfume River Restaurant in Westminster, which is owned by Vu’s company, Aloha Financial Investment. Two VAS leaders have also held leadership roles at Aloha, according to records LAist obtained.

Shoppers pass Perfume River Restaurant & Lounge, which appeared closed, inside of the Asian Garden shopping mall, also known as Phước Lộc Thọ, in Westminster in April 2024.

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Brian Feinzimer

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LAist

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The FBI confirmed that it was involved in the raid on the Perfume River Restaurant, located in the Asian Garden Mall in Westminster. An IRS spokesperson, however, said the agency did not join in that operation.

Rhiannon Do and Peter Pham are among those accused in the county’s lawsuit of a fraud scheme to divert funds intended to feed needy seniors and build a war memorial, to instead pay for million-dollar homes and improvements to the homes.

Requests for comment were not returned by Supervisor Do, Rhiannon Do or Peter Pham. Peter Pham told the Los Angeles Times on Thursday that the situation was a "misunderstanding" and that he "didn't do anything wrong."

An O.C. Superior Court spokesperson said Cheri Pham is unable to comment due to California judicial ethics rules barring judges from commenting on law enforcement actions or pending court cases.

On Friday, David Wiechert, an attorney who said he had been retained to represent Rhiannon Do, told LAist Rhiannon Do is a "very honest, law-abiding, hardworking young woman."

"It’s our intention to demonstrate to the government the error of their ways if they think she’s done something wrong,” he said.

The raid of Rhiannon Do’s home in Tustin

An LAist reporter saw at least six law enforcement officers outside Rhiannon Do’s home and around the front doorway Thursday morning. Around 11:20 a.m., an LAist reporter at the scene overheard a law enforcement agent say Rhiannon Do was inside the home. Law enforcement officers were inside at the time as well. A neighbor told LAist that he saw Rhiannon Do come in with the agents when they first entered the house earlier this morning.

Law enforcement at a house purchased by Rhiannon Do in Tustin.

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Jill Replogle

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LAist

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The IRS’ criminal division was involved in the raid on Rhiannon Do’s house. Most of the agents observed by LAist wore black shirts with "POLICE IRS-CI" printed on the back. An LAist reporter also overheard an agent telling a private investigator that they were with IRS' criminal investigation division.

A spokesperson for the Orange County District Attorney’s Office confirmed they were involved in the raids but declined to comment further.

Rhiannon Do purchased the home last year for $1.035 million, according to Zillow and real estate records reviewed by LAist.

Law enforcement near a Tustin house that Rhiannon Do, the daughter of O.C. Supervisor Andrew Do, purchased.

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Jill Replogle

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LAist

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Larry Thomas, who lives next door to the house, told LAist around 9:45 a.m. that officers were standing guard outside. He said he was hearing what he described as “slamming and quite a bit of noise” from inside the house.

A photo obtained by LAist shows what appears to be an evidence marker in front of a small structure on the property. The white rectangular sign states “ROOM P.” An LAist reporter overheard an agent next to the home say, "Remember, you’re looking for documents.” An agent also noted finding a large amount of Christmas decorations.

Farzin Noohi, a private investigator, who said he was working with Rhiannon Do's lawyer, speaks to law enforcement in Tustin as the raid was underway.

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Jill Replogle

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LAist

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Shortly before 1:30 p.m., an agent exited the house with two large rectangular boxes and drove away.

Federal agents were at the Tustin home for nearly eight hours.

At one point, agents came out and put a file folder, three file boxes and a black trash bag, half full, into a car.

Shortly after 5 p.m. an LAist reporter saw five agents exit the home and leave in five separate vehicles.

Supervisor Do and Rhiannon Do have been in and out of the house in recent days, Thomas told LAist on Wednesday. Rhiannon in particular, he said, has been in and out of the house more in the last 48 hours than in the year-plus since buying it.

Earlier this week, Thomas told LAist that there have been no signs anyone ever moved into the home, in the year or so since Rhiannon Do bought it.

He said that in the first few months after the purchase, a significant amount of work appeared to be done on the house, including the sound of electric saws.

“You could hear, every day, hammers and saws and heavy equipment,” Thomas said.

The backstory

LAist revealed last December that the nonprofit, Viet America Society, had failed to account for what happened with millions of dollars in taxpayer money Do had provided the group.

Rhiannon Do in a YouTube video posted in August 2021 by the Steinberg Institute where she was an intern.

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Screenshot via YouTube

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In response to LAist’s questions in April about the funding her father directed to the nonprofit and the home purchase, Rhiannon Do did not answer if any county funds provided to her nonprofit were used to purchase the home. She denied that anything improper took place and said she worked hard for her home.

After the county gave the nonprofit months of opportunities this year to provide required proof, it ended up filing a lawsuit last week alleging a sweeping fraud scheme to divert money that was meant to feed vulnerable seniors during the pandemic. Among the county’s allegations are that funding was illegally diverted to buying multiple homes, including Rhiannon Do’s home in Tustin.

Supervisor Do has not responded to LAist’s requests for comment over the last nine months. He has denied any wrongdoing in interviews with other media. State law does not require the disclosure of his family tie to the nonprofit he funded with taxpayer money. The state Legislature is advancing a bill that would change that.

Responses to the searches

Santa Ana City Councilmember Thai Viet Phan, the first Vietnamese American elected to the council, called for the “immediate resignation” of Supervisor Do.

“While innocent until proven guilty, Supervisor Do has lost the trust of our community and should not retain power over a $9.3 billion budget,” Phan said.

Community organizations VietRISE and Harbor Institute for Immigrant & Economic Justice also called for the resignation of Supervisor Andrew Do.

“Residents continue to face skyrocketing rents, evictions, and homelessness, yet Supervisor Do used his position to divert taxpayer dollars towards million-dollar properties for his own family and friends,” the statement from both organizations said. “Supervisor Do has failed the residents of his own District, including the working-class immigrants and refugees of Little Saigon.”

State Sen. Dave Min issued a statement saying he was glad federal authorities were investigating allegations of public corruption in Orange County.

“For too long, Orange County has been seen as a place where corruption and abuse of the public trust are part of the political culture,” he said.

Min’s Rebuilding Public Trust Act, which was inspired by LAist’s reporting, is currently awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature and would require elected officials to recuse themselves from votes that would award government contracts to their family members. He said he hoped the raids would be motivation for the governor to sign the legislation.

Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley said she anticipates the raids will “uncover additional evidence that proves the brazen criminal conspiracy by these individuals who stole millions to enrich themselves instead of feeding hungry, disabled seniors.”

Meeting coming up next week

The O.C. Board of Supervisors is scheduled to meet Tuesday for their regularly scheduled meeting.

Among the items Supervisor Do and other supervisors are being asked to decide is whether to increase funding for real estate fraud prosecutions by the DA’s office.

The meeting starts at 9:30 a.m. on Aug. 27.

Here’s how you can follow along:

• Attend in person: The Board of Supervisors meets in the County Administration North, Board Hearing Room, First Floor, 400 W Civic Center Dr, Santa Ana.
• Listen to the meeting via phone: Call (866) 590-5055. Access code: 4138489
• Watch the live broadcast

To submit a comment, you can attend in person, dial in or submit a comment via email to response@ocgov.com.

Catch up on the investigation

In November 2023, LAist began investigating how millions in public taxpayer dollars were spent. In total, LAist has uncovered over $13 million in public money 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 we 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 we 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 it could be forced to repay the funds.
• And, we 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.
  

A new program that gives Angelenos on food assistance the option to have fresh produce delivered to their homes has launched, serving a roughly 20 mile radius around the Atwater Village and Crenshaw farmers markets.

Food Access LA, a non-profit that operates a chain of farmers markets focusing on customers who rely on food assistance, is behind the new Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) box delivery program.

Isabel Thottam, with Food Access LA, said she and her colleagues have spent the last three years or so working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other groups to get approval for the delivery program to accept Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT).

“What I’m excited about is just being able to give people that opportunity to choose,” Thottam told LAist. “If they want to get farmers market produce delivered and use their EBT that way, they should have that autonomy to make that decision,” Thottam, who directs the nonprofit’s EAT! Food Distribution program, said.

How it works

Food Access L.A. curates each box of produce from five to seven different vendors from the farmers market and takes on logistics of home delivery.

Organizers said they anticipate delivering 20 to 30 boxes from the Atwater Village and Crenshaw farmers markets every week and expect it to be a welcome option for seniors, people with disabilities or other groups who may have difficulties getting out in-person to a farmers market.

“You know a lot of people do come to the markets with the ... mindset of ‘farmers markets are inaccessible, they’re for rich people, they’re not for me,’” Miguel Ceniceros, senior manager of benefits and incentives at Food Access L.A., told LAist. “Our job is really to dispel those myths.”

A farmers market operated by Food Access LA.

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Courtesy Food Access LA

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‘A lot of uncertainty’ 

The new produce delivery offering comes at a time of substantial change and uncertainty for nutrition assistance programs nationwide.

That’s because the Trump administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act that passed last July imposes funding cuts and new requirements for families trying to get help paying for groceries.

L.A. County could see more than 200,000 people at risk of losing their CalFresh benefits because of new work-requirement rules that went into effect last month targeting recipients like those between the ages of 55 to 64, unhoused people, and veterans.

“These changes are quite significant. Because our population of just those estimated impacted are way beyond some caseloads of other counties,” said Shawn Amiel, Division Chief with the L.A. County Department of Public Social Services. “And it could really contribute to the food insecurity of so many people.”

Amiel said she and her colleagues are working now to educate people on possible exemptions and what the new requirements entail.

In the meantime, Amiel welcomes opportunities like the new CSA box delivery.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty as we enter these policy changes having to be implemented,” Amiel said. “So any additional assistance, any additional opportunities to kind of spread out these funds as much as possible should be taken advantage of.”

The new Christopher Nolan epic The Odyssey opens this weekend. And purists will probably want to catch it in a theater to experience it in all of its 70mm glory.

But another film screening (albeit a little more old-fashioned) happens tonight at a park in La Crescenta.

“Oh yeah, Christopher Nolan ... In fact, he uses the same lab that I do to print my 35 [mm] — FotoKem,” said Joe Rinaudo, silent film historian and founder of the nonprofit SCAAT or Silent Cinema Art and Technology. “One time I was over there and Christopher Nolan was there and man they were hopping to it!”

Rinaudo is also the man behind Silent Movies in Two Strike Park, a special showcase of films from the era that usually takes place once a year. Tonight’s program includes Buster Keaton’s One Week (1920), Charley Chase’s Crazy Like a Fox (1926), and Laurel and Hardy’s Do Detectives Think? (1927).

Professor Rinaudo 

Rinaudo, nicknamed “Professor Rinaudo” for his vast silent film knowledge, has spent his life preserving and screening silent classics. His love of old films stretches back to when he was a kid in the 1950s. He even bought 99-cent reels at Sears and would host screenings for neighborhood kids.

Tonight, he will follow in the tradition of the itinerant — or traveling — projectionists of the early 1900s, by cranking out this evening’s slate on a 1909 Power’s Motion Picture Machine Model 6, which started its life with an itinerant projectionist.

“I bought it from the great-grandchildren of the original owner. It was found in a chicken coop and [I] did a total restoration,” Rinaudo said.

I was lucky enough to see the hand-crank process in action at his home in La Crescenta earlier in the week.

“You have to crank at the camera man’s speed,” Rinaudo said. “You have to watch the action very closely … If it slows down, and it looks blurry then you need to speed up, because you’ll betray the camera man’s shutter.”

‘Educate and inspire’ 

Rinaudo’s La Crescenta home isn’t just a showcase for his collection of antique film equipment. It also includes a 20-seat, 1910-style theater that he built. The silent movie palace is complete with an alluring red curtain and period-specific, ornate light fixtures that he manufactured himself.

Joe Rinaudo stands in front of the stage.

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Robert Garrova / LAist

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It defies logic that this huge theater, complete with a second story balcony and projection room, fits in this residential space. But there’s more just below the theater, including an 800-pipe organ Rinaudo is working to restore so that music can accompany his film screenings.

“The pipe organ will of course add a new dimension to the theater. It’s an 11-rank Wurlitzer built in 1920. It was saved from the Covell Theater in Modesto, California,” Rinaudo said.

The massive pipes of the Wurlitzer came to life thanks to a vintage air blower in the basement, their low tones enough to rattle your ribcage.

Rinaudo’s theater isn’t open to the public, but through his nonprofit, he’s thinking about how it can be preserved for all to enjoy. But you can catch his itinerant show at Two Strike Park in La Crescenta, usually once a year. And he's hoping to soon start screening films again at the Nethercutt Collection Museum in Sylmar.

"Eventually, all of this will go into the non-profit after my passing,” Rinaudo said. “I’m hoping to keep this as a private museum ... that will continue to educate and inspire younger people about our history.”

Local ice cream chain Wanderlust Creamery offers a sweet relief from this week’s sweltering temperatures. From ube to mango sticky rice, its unique signature and seasonal flavors can be found across Los Angeles and Orange counties.

Founder and chef Adrienne Borlongan sat down with Austin Cross, who hosts AirTalk every Friday, to discuss Wanderlust’s travel-inspired flavors.

About the owner

Borlongan initially thought that she would be a nurse. But after spending two years completing nursing prerequisites, she pivoted to a degree in food science and worked as a bartender for almost a decade.

Adrienne Borlongan, founder and chef of Wanderlust Creamery, is also a food scientist.

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Lindy Lin

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One day, her roommate brought home an ice cream maker.

“And that kind of just snowballed into this crazy ice cream obsession,” Borlongan recalled.

She founded Wanderlust with her partner Jon-Patrick Lopez in 2015.

What sets the store apart?

Wanderlust’s flavors come from places Borlongan has either traveled to or has on her travel bucket list.

Many of the flavors are inspired by Borlongan’s Filipino-American heritage, including a best-selling ube malted crunch. It also features flavors like Ashta, a clotted cream from the Middle East.

The ultimate Wanderlust experience, according to the chef

Wanderlust Creamery is known for flavors from all over the world.

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Courtesy Wanderlust Creamery

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You're encouraged to try as many samples as your heart desires. Wanderlust’s staff are trained to guide anyone through the flavors and talk you through options before you make a decision.

What’s next for Wanderlust? 

Borlongan is working on innovating new flavors for the summer, including an ice cream based on Swedish candies. She’s trying to whip up a mixture that’s able to keep the gummies chewy while frozen in ice cream.

Wanderlust is also opening a new location in San Diego.

Shop details

• Wanderlust’s ice cream has less air compared to traditional ice cream, making it rich and creamy. 
• Its seasonal menu items include Buontalenti, honey butter corn, Kaya toast, white peach verbena, Icelandic milk chocolate and Ashta. 
• The local ice cream shop has locations in Atwater Village, Fairfax, Pasadena, Sawtelle, Venice, Irvine, Costa Mesa and Torrance. 

Menu items we tried

• Ube malted crunch (malted milk, malted milkballs, and ube) 
• Stick rice and mango (rice milk, coconut cream, salt, Alphonso mangoes)
• White peach verbena (peach, lemon verbena)

What should we try next?

An Orange County Superior Court judge this week found that Orange County Board of Education member Marilyn “Mari” Barke failed to report millions of dollars in assets and income in her annual economic disclosure filings over multiple years.

Barke will have to pay nearly $82,000 in penalties, as well as attorneys’ fees, according to a proposed decision statement. The fees could amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

What’s next? 

State court rules allow parties 15 days to file objections to the proposed decision. After that, the court will be able to enter a final judgment.

About the case

Barke was elected to the OC Board of Education in 2018, and she currently serves as a board trustee. She is also the director of coalitions at the California Policy Center, an educational non-profit.

Under the California Political Reform Act, local elected officials are required to disclose their income, investments and other assets.

Barke filed amended financial statements for 2018 through 2021, following a complaint by private citizen made in February 2023. The Fair Political Practices Commission in 2024 found Barke liable on 16 counts for failing to report that income. Barke agreed to a settlement and paid a $3,200 penalty.

The judge later found that the FPPC’s settlement did not fully address the “willfulness/recklessness” or “adequacy of corrective efforts,” according to the proposed decision statement from Orange County Superior Court Judge H. Shaina Colover.

According to the court records, Barke argued that the mistakes in her filings were because she was following the advice of her now ex-husband, Dr. Jeff Barke, who she says advised her that the filings only needed to list economic interests if they conflicted with her role on the board.

Colover's response was that Barke’s reliance on that alleged advice was objectively unreasonable and wrong.

The response

Lynne Riddle, a retired judge who filed the complaint, said in a statement that financial interest disclosures are critical to the public.

“When elected officials flout their disclosure obligations like this, it undermines the public's right to honest and ethical government,” stated Riddle, who has published op-eds about charter schools and the OC Board of Education. “The Court’s decision vindicates the public’s right to know what their elected officials are doing.”

Riddle said the ruling and penalties should send a clear message that elected officials cannot shirk their responsibilities to disclose their economic interests.

Barke’s lawyer, Mark Rosen, in a statement to LAist, said: "From the start, this case was a vendetta against Mrs. Barke because she supports charter schools."

“As a first-time candidate, she made some technical mistakes in her forms with the Fair Political Practices Commission, and she freely admitted and corrected those mistakes and paid a fine,” Rosen said. “The anti-charter schools gang then piled on with this frivolous lawsuit.”

There are mistakes in the court’s decision, and “we are exploring a further course of action,” Rosen added.