Alleging 'special treatment,' OC supervisors push for longer sentence for Andrew Do

Two Orange County supervisors are calling for federal prosecutors to suggest a longer prison sentence against disgraced ex-Supervisor Andrew Do, saying the five-year cap in his plea deal shows “special treatment” compared with other major corruption cases.

“There is strong concern that, as an elected official, Andrew Do received special treatment from the federal prosecutors, resulting in a single criminal charge that does not fully reflect the severity and extent of Do's corrupt behavior,” according to the proposal from supervisors Janet Nguyen and Doug Chaffee. “His plea agreement, which significantly limits his sentencing, stands in stark contrast to harsher penalties imposed on others who committed similar crimes involving public funds and bribery.”

Among the examples they point to is a 16-year sentence for former Lynwood Mayor Paul Richards for steering city contracts to a company he controlled.

Do is scheduled to be sentenced June 9, following a plea deal that resulted from a federal probe inspired by a months-long LAist investigation into millions in taxpayer dollars that he directed to a nonprofit where his daughter, Rhiannon Do, held top roles. He pleaded guilty to a felony bribery conspiracy charge in late October, nearly a year later.

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Nguyen and Chaffee also are calling on the Justice Department to speed up its investigation of other people allegedly involved in schemes connected to Do. Their proposal for issuing a formal letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi goes to a vote by the full Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.

“The lack of further prosecutions against other individuals implicated in this scheme raises concerns about incomplete justice and the perception of unequal accountability,” the two supervisors wrote. “Andrew Do's abuse of his public office to personally profit from emergency relief funds directly harmed those vulnerable communities who were depending on these critical resources for their survival during the pandemic.”

Do’s attorney, Paul Meyer, initially told LAist it would be inappropriate for him to comment.

Late Friday he emailed this statement: "A political attempt to influence the justice system is reprehensible."

The federal judge overseeing Do’s sentencing, James Selna, has said he is not beholden to the plea agreement and will make up his own mind about the former supervisor’s punishment.

Andrew Do was Nguyen’s chief of staff for part of her first round as a county supervisor, before the two had a major falling out about a decade ago after Do was elected to that seat. She was elected in November to replace Do, who was termed out in early January but resigned a couple of months early as part of his plea deal.

New leader at the office prosecuting Do

Do is being prosecuted by the regional U.S. Attorney’s Office. It has a new interim leader as of this week: Bill Essayli, a Republican who served in the state Assembly until he stepped down Tuesday to run the federal prosecutor’s office.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office didn’t respond to a request for comment about Chaffee and Nguyen’s motion.

The motion comes as LAist has continued to investigate various alleged schemes connected to Do. The county has been conducting reviews of projects Do was involved with, as has CalOptima, the county’s health insurance plan for low-income residents.