KEY FINDINGS
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- Viet America Society, a nonprofit run by O.C. Supervisor Andrew Do’s 22-year-old daughter, charged taxpayers at least 60% more for meals for seniors than another vendor, according to public records reviewed by LAist.
- County officials sent letters this week saying the nonprofit has multiple violations for its meal contracts, and is giving it 30 days to respond.
- The letter raises questions about whether the required number of meals, which cost taxpayers millions, were delivered to seniors. The county wrote that the nonprofit has failed in its contract obligations to prove how many meals were provided and where the money went.
- Viet America Society may be required to repay the money, according to the letter.
Orange County officials have found that a nonprofit led on and off by O.C. Supervisor Andrew Do’s 22-year-old daughter has failed to prove it provided millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded meals to residents in need during the pandemic.
The allegations are contained in letters, which LAist obtained through public records requests, focusing on contracts totaling $4.2 million from late 2020 through May 2023. They were sent to Peter Pham, who founded Viet America Society, and issued by OC Community Resources — the county agency that oversaw the contracts.
Do directed the money to the nonprofit as part of coronavirus relief measures in his district, and did not publicly disclose his family connection when awarding millions to the group. Viet America Society was a little-known, newly-formed group at the time.
In letters dated Tuesday, the county demanded that Viet America Society provide proof within 30 days that it provided the meals, and records showing what happened with the money. And officials warned that the group could be…
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