Andrew Doe, former Orange County supervisor, pleads guilty to bribery

SANTA ANA, CA – Saying he is “very sorry” for his actions, the ex Orange County Warden Andrew Doe pleaded guilty Thursday to federal bribery charges.

Do, 61, admitted in his plea agreement that in exchange for more than $550,000 in bribes, he voted on the Board of Supervisors beginning in 2020, which directed more than $10 million in COVID-19 relief to the Viet Society America, where his daughter Rhiannon lives. worked, according to the US Attorney’s Office.

The verdict is scheduled for March 31.

“I am very sorry for my actions,” Doe told U.S. District Judge James Selney when asked to recount the crimes in his own words.

He could face up to five years in prison, US Attorney Martin Estrada said. He told reporters he expected his office to push for the higher penalty level included in the federal guidelines.

Selna said whether he had the authority to impose a harsher sentence could be appealed. But Do waives all of his appeals and cannot withdraw the plea unless the sentence exceeds five years.

OFFERED: OC Supervisor’s Daughter Searched by Feds During Investigation of COVID-19 Fraud

It remains to be seen how much compensation Do may have to make. That could be between $550,000 and $730,000, according to the plea agreement, but prosecutors may recommend that proceeds from the sale of the Tustin home, which his daughter bought, could go toward restitution.

Doe’s lawyer, Paul Meyer, said after the hearing: “We want to respect the legal process and will not discuss the case or the facts. Andrew Do admitted responsibility in court before the judge and apologized to his family and community. full and sincere.”

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer told reporters after Thursday’s hearing that it was a “monumental day.”

Spitzer added that “to hear (Do) say it in his own words was meaningful and monumental.”

Do’s own account of his crimes “gave me confidence that we did the right thing,” Spitzer said.

Asked about other individuals who may have been involved in the scheme, Spitzer declined to comment.

“Obviously, this is an ongoing investigation,” Spitzer said, adding that it would be unfair to discuss any investigations of anyone who has not been charged with any crimes.

“We are not done and will pursue every individual involved,” Spitzer said. “We are fully committed to the cause and committed to fully reimbursing the taxpayers.”

Spitzer said he was “ashamed” that the money for the Westminster veterans memorial had been “wasted”. He said Do’s replacement could be sworn in before the usual January date.

Doe, who was fired at the end of the year, resigned as warden as part of a plea deal.

It was an extraordinary fall from power for a Vietnam War refugee who worked as a prosecutor in the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and as a defense attorney before being elected to the Garden Grove City Council after serving as chief of staff to a former Orange County supervisor Janet. Nguyen. He was first elected to the Supervisory Board in 2015, and won the next term in 2020.

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Prosecutors said some of the county money VAS received was eventually funneled through an unnamed outside company that paid $8,000 a month to Rhiannon Doe, 23, for a total of $224,000 through February 2024. The company also transferred more than $380,000 to the escrow company and Rhiannon Do. used the money to buy a $1 million Tustin home, prosecutors said. Other funds were sent back to Andrew Do to pay property taxes owed to him and his wife, and another $15,000 was used to pay one of Andrew Do’s credit card bills, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

“In total, Mr. Do and his family received more than $700,000 in bribes,” Estrada said at a news conference.

Do voters “got a politician who puts his own needs before the needs of the people in his community,” Estrada said. “…Mr. Do is a representative of the American dream. He came to this country, worked hard, succeeded, was elected to public office, and gave it all up to get rich.”

Estrada said the corruption was made worse by the fact that “the people he stole from, the money he took, was meant for the most vulnerable in our community.”

In agreeing to plead guilty to federal bribery charges, Andrew Doe also entered into a separate but related plea agreement with the Orange County Prosecutor’s Office in which he will resign as county supervisor and forfeit any pension credit he accrued during that time. He had been involved in the bribery scheme since 2020, Spitzer said at a news conference.

Rhiannon Doe, a third-year law student at the University of California, Irvine, has agreed to fully cooperate with the investigation and will be allowed to participate in the diversion program. Prosecutors said she agreed to forfeit the Tustin home.

Prosecutors said Do’s other adult daughter received $100,000.

Andrew Do also faces a fine of up to $250,000.

Asked if anyone else could face charges, Estrada said the investigation is ongoing.

Andrew Doe has already been stripped of his committee duties and his seat on the Orange County Transportation Authority board. Do was also condemned by his fellow supervisors, some of whom called for him to resign because they did not have the power to remove him from office.

The storm around Do began last year when questions were raised about the subcontracting of COVID-19 relief awarded to the Vietnam American Society. The uproar erupted in August when the county sued VAS in an attempt to recover millions of dollars for unaccounted for services related to a contract for a food delivery program for the elderly and needy during the pandemic.

Do was not named in the lawsuit, but his daughter was accused of using some of the money to buy a house in Tustin. Do also has ties to Peter Pham, chairman of VAS.

VAS officials insisted that they prepared and delivered food during the pandemic, but did not properly account for the service. A VAS lawyer said it was difficult for drivers to collect all the documents because residents were practicing social distancing during the pandemic.

San Diego County Superior Court Judge Kathryn Bacal, who was appointed to hear the county’s lawsuit because Doe’s wife and Rhiannon’s mother is Orange County Superior Court Judge Cheri Pham, ordered VAS to pay nearly $4.2 million in case the county wins its lawsuit .

The county also sued Hand to Hand Relief, which subcontracted with VAS.

In August, federal investigators searched the homes of Peter Pham and Rhiannon Doe, as well as other locations related to the investigation into alleged embezzlement, including the home of Andrew Doe.

The plea agreement also describes how prosecutors allege one unnamed co-conspirator used an air conditioning company that was paid $256,000 to collect $100,000 in bribes from Do. That $100,000 was paid to another of Do’s daughters using three checks for $25,000 from one company and $25,000 from another alleged co-conspirator, prosecutors said.

Of the $9.3 million that went to VAS, only 15 percent, or about $1.4 million, was used as intended, Estrada said. The government seized $2.4 million, as well as the Tustin home and another home on 17th Street in Santa Ana, Estrada said.

Prosecutors said Do’s online video advertised that VAS provided 2,700 meals a week.