Former OC Supervisor Do pleads guilty to felony bribery

In a stark fall from political power, former Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do pleaded guilty to a felony charge of bribery on Thursday at the federal courthouse in Santa Ana. The plea comes nearly a year after LAist began investigating what happened to millions in taxpayer dollars that Do directed to a nonprofit led on-and-off by his daughter, Rhiannon Do.

At one point, back when he was still supervisor, Do wrote an op-ed published in the Orange County Register defending his actions and attacking LAist’s reporting. At another point, he released a statement on county letterhead calling on LAist to fire Nick Gerda, our reporter who broke the story.

A less defiant Do appeared before U.S. District Court Judge James Selna on Thursday. The defendant read a brief statement in which he said "I have great sorrow for my actions." He also said he apologized "to my family and the people who depended upon me."

The guilty plea was part of an agreement Andrew Do signed earlier this month with local and federal prosecutors, which included his resignation from the Board of Supervisors. Under the agreement, the former supervisor will admit that he conspired to steal millions of dollars meant to feed needy seniors during the COVID-19 pandemic, starting in June 2020.

Andrew Do faces the following penalties when he is scheduled to be sentenced on March 31, 2025:

• Maximum of five years in prison
• Fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss resulting from the crime
• Full restitution to victims, estimated between $550,000 and $730,500, according to the plea agreement

However, the judge made it clear on Thursday that he is not beholden to the plea agreement and that will make up his own mind about Do's punishment at sentencing.

Andrew Do, whose wife Cheri Pham is the the assistant presiding judge of the Orange County Superior Court, also agreed to forfeit a commercial property in Santa Ana, and his pension accrued from June 2020 when the scheme began. His daughter Rhiannon Do will not face charges as part of the plea agreement with authorities, but she must forfeit the Tustin home she purchased last summer. These homes are among at least four searched by FBI and IRS officials in August.

Additionally, convicted felons in California generally are barred for life from purchasing or possessing firearms.

As part of the agreement, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer agreed not to prosecute Andrew Do for any crimes associated with the same set of facts laid out in the federal plea deal.

Still, at a news conference announcing the deal last week, Spitzer and U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said the investigation into potential misuse of taxpayer funds in O.C. remains active.

"We are taking the first step on the path to justice and accountability and we will follow every lead," Estrada said.

Do left the courtroom quickly after the hearing, flanked by his lawyers, and didn’t take questions from reporters. One of his attorneys, Paul Meyer, later issued an emailed statement: “We want to respect the legal process and will not discuss the case or facts. Andrew Do’s in-court acceptance of responsibility to the judge, and his apology to his family and community, was complete and sincere.”

Local and federal authorities say just 15% of the $9.3 million in public funds directed by Andrew Do to his daughter’s nonprofit went to people in need.

Lawrence Rosenthal, a former federal prosecutor who now teaches at Chapman University's Fowler School of Law, said authorities could have enforced much higher penalties on Andrew Do and his daughter than those laid out in the plea agreement. "This is a very favorable disposition for Mr. Do and an amazingly favorable disposition for Ms. Do," he said of Rhiannon.

Rhiannon Do's agreement

Rhiannon Do, 23, admitted to participating in mortgage fraud related to the $1 million Tustin home she purchased with kickbacks from a company that benefited from Do's contract awards. As part of what prosecutors called a "package deal," when her dad pleads guilty, she is expected to enter into a so-called diversion agreement that includes three years of probation.

Under the agreement, in addition to forfeiting her Tustin home, Rhiannon Do commits to:

• Be jointly liable with her father for paying restitution up to $730,500;
• Cooperate fully with the U.S. Attorney's Office and other authorities in their ongoing investigation; and
• Attend school, including preparing for the State Bar exam (Rhiannon is a third-year law student at UC Irvine), or work.

Citing student privacy laws, Austen Parrish, dean of the UC Irvine School of Law, said he could not respond to LAist’s questions about whether Rhiannon Do’s conduct violated the school’s ethics rules and whether it could affect her ability to receive a diploma.

What about Do's law license?

Andrew Do has been licensed by the State Bar to practice law in California since 1990. Rosenthal, the former federal prosecutor, called it "extraordinary" that Do wasn't made to surrender his law license and agree to voluntary disbarment as part of the plea agreement.

He also said it was "extraordinary" that Rhiannon Do would be able to sit for the State Bar exam and potentially become licensed to practice law.

"When I was a prosecutor, the state bar authorities often complained when they felt that they were being expected to resolve issues that should have been resolved in a criminal case," Rosenthal said, "and this certainly seems to be an example of just that."

Currently, the State Bar's website has a consumer alert, noting that Andrew Do has been charged with a felony. A spokesperson for the licensing agency told LAist that Do's felony conviction, once he pleads guilty, will be transmitted to State Bar Court, which has the authority to suspend Do's license.

It’s worth noting that California is not one of three states that bar all convicted felons from being attorneys.

A screenshot of the State Bar website with a consumer alert for Andrew Do.

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LAist

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That said, Andrew Do will be summarily disbarred if it's determined that the felony offense involved moral turpitude, or the "specific intent to deceive, defraud, steal, or make or suborn a false statement," according to State Bar rules.

Can Rhiannon Do still become a lawyer?

For Rhiannon Do to become a licensed lawyer in California, she has to establish that she has "good moral character," according to State Bar rules, including "qualities of honesty, fairness, candor, trustworthiness, observance of fiduciary responsibility, respect for and obedience to the law, and respect for the rights of others and the judicial process."

Applicants to the State Bar have to go through a background check and submit a moral character application that gets reviewed by the Bar. Under the state bar rules, applicants to take the bar need to disclose pending criminal matters.

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. 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: Top OC official helped direct millions to his daughter’s center without disclosing family connection
• 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.
• On Oct. 16, LAist reported that the wife of Supervisor Do's top aide was hired for a $275,000 contract. County officials say the work was never turned in and two days later LAist reported that a court filing confirmed a federal grand jury had been convened and subpoenas issued.
• Six days later, federal prosecutors announced Andrew Do had agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery. They said Do accepted over $550,000 in bribes for directing and voting in favor of more than $10 million in COVID funds to VAS. He resigned as supervisor the same day.

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.
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