Nonprofit linked to OC supervisor’s daughter says it won’t refund $2.2M in taxpayer funds demanded by county

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• OC officials expand demands for refunds from nonprofits awarded public funds by Supervisor Andrew Do — and threaten legal action

A nonprofit group says it is refusing a demand by Orange County officials to refund $2.2 million that Supervisor Andrew Do directed to the organization outside of the public’s view. Do’s daughter, Rhiannon Do, led the group, Viet America Society (VAS), off and on over the time that money was awarded, according to public records.

On Friday, LAist broke the news that county officials determined VAS has failed to show it actually did the work it was paid to do. They demanded a full refund by Aug. 26 for two contracts meant to feed needy residents during the coronavirus pandemic.

The nonprofit’s attorney has not returned LAist’s calls and texts for comment about the refund demand. The Orange County Register reported that he said this week that the county won’t get its money back because the group did what it was paid to do.

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What the nonprofit's attorney said

“There’s no way they’re getting that money back,” said Sterling Scott Winchell, who represents the Huntington Beach-based nonprofit, in an interview with the Register published Wednesday.

“The immediate plan is, no, the money was earned,” added Winchell, who also was Do’s appointee to the county ethics commission until last year.

“The bottom line is these people did the work and the county is being … very extreme and punitive in the way they’re handling it,” he told the Register. “They’re probably just trying to get our attention.”

A month ago, Winchell did speak to LAist. In that interview, he said the group was working to locate invoices from vendors and create documentation, saying “they haven’t kept the normal accounting for what they’ve done.”

County spokespeople declined to comment to LAist on the group’s reported refusal to refund the money. But Supervisor Katrina Foley told the Register that it’s “deeply disturbing," adding VAS must return funds they can’t prove they spent to feed needy residents.

“It’s that simple,” she said.

In that same OC Register report, Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento backed the refund demand and called continued accountability “critical.”

What happens next?

The county could file a lawsuit asking a judge to force the nonprofit to repay the money — something the county has done in the past with other vendors it determined had failed to perform.

The county’s demand letters state that the county has a right under the law “to seek reimbursement for the payments made to VAS.”

Such a move would require a majority vote of the five-member Board of Supervisors. That board includes Supervisor Do, who is termed out of office in December.

The money

The $2.2 million at issue was directed by Do to the nonprofit to feed needy seniors during the pandemic. He allocated funding to the group from January 2021 through May 2022, without public votes naming the vendor.

Letters from the county to VAS show the group failed to show that the meals were handed out as required by the county’s contract. LAist obtained the letters through a public records request.

Family ties

Public records show Viet America Society was led on and off by Do’s now 23-year-old daughter Rhiannon Do. The family ties were not publicly disclosed when Supervisor Do directed taxpayer money to the group, and wasn’t revealed publicly until reporting by LAist.

It was not illegal for Supervisor Do to award this money without disclosing his family connection. But ethics experts say it raises major concerns. And LAist’s reporting on Supervisor Do’s actions has prompted legislation to ban state and local officials across California from awarding taxpayer contracts to their children. That bill was passed unanimously in the state Senate and is now in the Assembly.

The status of the nonprofit

It’s unclear whether Viet America Society is currently operating.

In March, Viet America Society told its staff the organization was shutting down and staff were being laid off, and then later reversed course. At the time the nonprofit NAMI Orange County, who was using them as a subcontractor for county-funded work, cut ties.

VAS’ other county-funded mental health subcontract, with the Orange County Asian Pacific Islander Community Alliance, also was canceled this spring.

An LAist visit to the nonprofit’s headquarters in Huntington Beach in late March found a sign saying the office suite was for lease.

The Viet America Society's Huntington Beach office with a sign on its door saying the suite was available for lease on Thursday, March 28, 2024.

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Nick Gerda

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LAist

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The group’s logo had been removed when LAist made a follow up visit in July.

An office suite in Huntington Beach shown on July 1, 2024. Previously, the door featured Viet America Society's logo.

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Annie Rupertus

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LAist

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Last month, Winchell told LAist the nonprofit was still serving meals under its county-funded program at Perfume River, a restaurant in Westminster that public records show being managed in 2022 and this April by people who also have been listed in top leadership roles at VAS.

For the last several months, Viet America Society has been listed as delinquent on its state charity status with the California Attorney General.

That means it “is not in good standing and is prohibited from engaging in conduct for which registration is required, including soliciting or disbursing charitable funds,” according to a letter from the AG’s office to the group.

Annie Rupertus contributed to this story.