Calls for Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do to resign grow amid federal probe

Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do is facing increasing pressure to resign amid a looming federal probe involving his daughter, a local nonprofit and more than $10 million in unaccounted taxpayer money.

Do is in the last year of his second and last term as county supervisor, but calls for him to resign have increased after federal agents raided his and his daughter’s home Thursday, with the scandal now the subject of a federal criminal investigation.

Among those asking him to step down is a former boss and mentor vying to take his seat at the end of his term. A fellow supervisor also urged Do to “consider” stepping down.

“Orange County taxpayers have every right to be livid and demand justice,” said state Sen. Janet Nguyen, who represents the 36th District and is running for Do’s seat. “I call upon Andrew Do to immediately resign as Supervisor for the First District.”

Do worked as Nguyen’s chief of staff when she was elected to the board in 2007. The two had a falling out in 2016, during Do’s campaign for the county seat.

Vicente Sarmiento, who sits on the Board of Supervisors, stopped short of calling on Do to resign, but did urge his colleague to consider doing so.

“While I fully support law enforcement’s effort to uncover potential corruption and recover taxpayer funds, I am also a firm believer in respecting people’s due process rights,” Sarmiento said in a statement to The Times. “We must remember that Supervisor Do has not been convicted of a crime, nor is he a named defendant in the complaint.”

But Sarmiento added that Do’s ties to those under investigation also hindered his, and the county’s, ability to do their job.

“The current situation has created a climate of public distrust that makes it difficult for the Board to conduct the business of the people,” the statement read. “For these reasons, he should consider stepping down.”

Do and his chief of staff, Chris Wangsaporn, did not respond to requests for comment.

Do has faced months of scrutiny after LAist first reported that he had directed and voted to approve millions of dollars to Viet America Society, yet failed to disclose his daughter’s involvement with the group.

Then last week, Orange County filed a lawsuit against Viet America Society, accusing the group of pocketing $10 million in contracts to deliver meals to the elderly and the needy during the pandemic. The county accused executives at the nonprofit, including Do’s 23-year-old daughter, Rhiannon Do, of instead buying homes after funneling the money, “to their own personal bank accounts.”

On Thursday, officials with the FBI, Department of Justice, IRS Criminal Investigation and the Orange County district attorney’s office raided the homes of Andrew Do, his daughter, and VAS Chief Executive Peter Ahn Pham, raising questions about the ongoing scandal and the county supervisor’s role.

Attorney Craig Wilke, who is representing Andrew Do, declined to comment.

An attorney representing Do’s daughter did not respond to a request for comment.

After news of the federal searches broke, Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Thai Viet Phan, the city’s first Vietnamese American councilmember who represents part of Orange County’s Little Saigon, said Do must step down.

“Supervisor Do and his associates at Viet American Society have failed on all accounts,” she said in a statement posted on X. “Supervisor Do has lost the trust of our community and should not retain power over a $9.3 billion budget.”

VietRISE, an activist group that focuses on Vietnamese and immigrant communities in Orange County, on Thursday reiterated a call for Do to resign.

“While Orange County’s immigrant and refugee communities suffered the brunt of the pandemic’s onset, Supervisor Andrew Do leveraged his power to finance extravagant purchases using public funds intended to hep our senior community members survive,” the organization said in a statement. “Do has failed the residents of his own District.”

It is one of a growing coalition of local organizations asking him to step down, including the Orange County Justice Fund, Vietnamese American Federation of Southern California and the Arab American Civic Council.

The pressure continued Friday morning, with Buena Park Councilmemember Connor Traut also calling on Do to resign on X, arguing that the allegations against him and his daughter are “raising serious ethical concerns.”

“Supervisor Do’s continued presence in office is untenable,” he said in the statement. “While the legal process unfolds—including a civil suit and raids by the FBI—the breach of public trust is undeniable.”

Do has resisted demands to resign for months now. In November, the Orange County Register editorial board called on him to resign, saying the allegations against him were “the final straw.”

Some of Do’s colleagues on the board have also blasted VAS for the allegations detailed in the county’s lawsuit. But so far, none have pressed Do to resign.

Supervisors Katrina Foley and Sarmiento had asked the district attorney, state attorney general and the Department of Justice to investigate VAS after county officials said the nonprofit could not account how it had spent the millions of dollars it was awarded in contracts.

Both applauded the involvement of federal officials during the search warrants Thursday.

“I anticipate law enforcement 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,” she said in the statement, which did not mention her fellow supervisor.

Board Chairman Don Wagner declined to comment on the investigation via a spokesperson.

Board member Doug Chaffee and his staff did not respond to requests for comment about Do’s seat.