Corruption Scandal Involving Orange County Supervisor
The federal funds that were intended to provide essential meals for seniors and individuals with disabilities in Southern California, particularly those isolated at home and exceptionally vulnerable to the impacts of Covid-19, were misappropriated by Supervisor Andrew Do. Federal prosecutors revealed on Tuesday that rather than serving the community, Mr. Do managed to divert over $550,000 to himself and his family through a local charity in Orange County, California.
Instead of addressing the needs of the community, some of these funds were used to finance a luxurious million-dollar home for his daughter and to erase $15,000 of his own credit card debt. Mr. Do, aged 62, resigned from the Orange County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday and accepted a plea deal to confess to accepting bribes in exchange for directing more than $10 million in pandemic relief funds to a charity that had no prior experience or credibility in serving the local community.
Under the terms of the plea agreement he reached with federal prosecutors, Mr. Do could face up to five years in prison. His tenure on the elected board, which began in 2015, has now come to an abrupt end. U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada expressed the gravity of the situation in a statement, saying, “By prioritizing his personal interests above those of his constituents, the defendant sold his high office and betrayed the public’s trust. Even worse, the funds he misappropriated and accepted as bribe payments were taken from those who were most in need—older adults and disabled residents.”
This case is just one of several criminal corruption investigations that have surfaced in California, culminating in the downfall of one of the most prominent Vietnamese American politicians in the nation. Mr. Do, a Republican, represented over 600,000 constituents, including a significant number of older Vietnamese Americans who escaped from communism and now live on fixed incomes.