The attorney for Viet America Society on Friday, Aug. 16, said the county of Orange’s lawsuit accusing the charity and some of its leadership, including the daughter of Supervisor Andrew Do, of plundering $10.4 million in COVID relief funds was “garbage” and grossly inaccurate.
“They threw anything they could into this, any rumors, any innuendos. They threw Mr. Do’s daughter in there just for glamour,” said attorney Mark Rosen. “It’s a hatchet job.”
Rosen noted that the lawsuit, filed Thursday, accused Viet America Society president Peter Pham of using part of the $10.4 million allocated from the county to buy a house in Buena Park with a wife. Rosen said Pham is not married, doesn’t know the woman referenced in the suit and never purchased the property.
He said county lawyers got the wrong “Peter Pham.” Rosen added the lawsuit also accused Viet America Society of receiving $1 million for a Vietnam War memorial that was never built, when in fact it was.
“They threw in everything they could, whether it’s true or not,” Rosen said. “(The defendants) feel like they are being beaten on.”
The lawsuit accused Viet America Society of funneling substantial liquid assets to Pham and Do’s daughter, Rhiannon, well as other named defendants Dinh Mai and Aloha Financial, who “then converted these funds into real property in a further effort to put their illicit gains beyond the reach of the county.”
The lawsuit alleged six properties in Garden Grove, Buena Park, Santa Ana, Fountain Valley and Tustin were purchased between August 2021 and May 2024 with county funds.
Among the properties is a three-bedroom home in Tustin purchased for $1,035,000 by Rhiannon Do in July 2023. Real estate documents obtained by The Orange County Register show Rhiannon Do – whom a former VAS attorney previously said earned $18,000 in 2022 at VAS – obtained a $621,000 loan for the house as a single woman through EMET Mortgage in Brea. The down payment would have been $414,000 for the house on Candeda Place with wood floors and vaulted ceilings.
Viet America Society and its associates also made “voluminous, unaccounted for ATM withdrawals,” using the money for their personnel spending, the suit alleged.
Starting in 2020, the county gave Viet America Society more than $10 million in federal COVID relief money, largely to provide meals to elderly and disabled people during the pandemic. About $1 million was for the Vietnam War memorial. Most of the money came from Supervisor Do’s First District discretionary fund.
Do has been publicly criticized for not disclosing that his daughter was employed by VAS, which does not violate county policy or state conflict-of-interest law.
Andrew Do was not mentioned by name in the lawsuit. Do, nor his daughter, have not responded to requests for comment on the lawsuit. Rosen said he represents Viet America Society, Pham and Mai.
(This is a developing story. Please come back for updates.)
Related Articles
Orange County sues Viet America Society leaders, including Supervisor Andrew Do’s daughter
Two OC supervisors call on county, state and federal agencies to investigate Viet America Society
Second class of OC Hall of Fame inductees announced
County upped demands for Viet America Society payback to about $4.2M, threatened litigation
Viet America Society will refuse OC officials’ demand for return of $2.2 million, says nonprofit’s lawyer
Leave a Reply