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A strip mall in Huntington Beach where the office of Viet America Society was located, shown in April 2024. The nonprofit's logo was removed in recent months, and it stopped using the office space.A group linked to Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do’s daughter is refusing a demand by county officials to refund $2.
2 million that the supervisor directed to the group outside of the public’s view.Viet America Society’s attorney hasn’t returned LAist’s calls and texts for comment about the refund demand. But the Orange County Register reported that he said that the county won’t get its money back because the group, which is a nonprofit based in Huntington Beach, did what it was paid to do.On Friday, LAist broke the news that county officials determined Viet America Society has failed to show it actually did the work it was paid to do. They demanded a full refund by Aug. 26 for two contracts meant to feed needy residents during the coronavirus pandemic.Public records show Viet America Society was led on and off by Do’s now 23-year-old daughter Rhiannon Do. The family ties were not publicly disclosed when Supervisor Do directed taxpayer money to the group, and wasn’t revealed publicly until reporting by LAist.A nonprofit group says it is refusing a demand by Orange County officials to refund $2.2 million that Supervisor Andrew Do directed to the organization outside of the public’s view. Do’s daughter, Rhiannon Do, led the group, Viet America Society , off and on over the time that money was awarded, according to public records.that county officials determined VAS has failed to show it actually did the work it was paid to do. They demanded a full refund by Aug. 26 for two contracts meant to feed needy residents during the coronavirus pandemic. The nonprofit’s attorney has not returned LAist’s calls and texts for comment about the refund demand. The Orange County Register reported that he said this week that the county won’t get its money back because the group did what it was paid to do.“The immediate plan is, no, the money was earned,” added Winchell, who also was Do’s appointee to the county ethics commission until last year. “The bottom line is these people did the work and the county is being … very extreme and punitive in the way they’re handling it,” he told the Register. “They’re probably just trying to get our attention.”, he said the group was working to locate invoices from vendors and create documentation, saying “they haven’t kept the normal accounting for what they’ve done.” County spokespeople declined to comment to LAist on the group’s reported refusal to refund the money. But Supervisor Katrina Foley told the Register that it’s “deeply disturbing, adding VAS must return funds they can’t prove they spent to feed needy residents.The county could file a lawsuit asking a judge to force the nonprofit to repay the money — something the countyThe county’s demand letters state that the county has a right under the law “to seek reimbursement for the payments made to VAS.” Such a move would require a majority vote of the five-member Board of Supervisors. That board includes Supervisor Do, who is termed out of office in December.The $2.2 million at issue was directed by Do to the nonprofit to feed needy seniors during the pandemic. He allocated funding to the group from January 2021 through May 2022, without public votes naming the vendor. Letters from the county to VAS show the group failed to show that the meals were handed out as required by the county’s contract. LAist obtained the letters through a public records request.Public records show Viet America Society was led on and off by Do’s now 23-year-old daughter Rhiannon Do. The family ties were not publicly disclosed when Supervisor Do directed taxpayer money to the group, and wasn’t revealed publicly until It was not illegal for Supervisor Do to award this money without disclosing his family connection. But ethics experts say it raises major concerns. And LAist’s reporting on Supervisor Do’s actions has promptedThe status of the nonprofit, and then later reversed course. At the time the nonprofit NAMI Orange County, who was using them as a subcontractor for county-funded work, cut ties. VAS’ other county-funded mental health subcontract, with the Orange County Asian Pacific Islander Community Alliance, also was canceled this spring. An LAist visit to the nonprofit’s headquarters in Huntington Beach in late March found a sign saying the office suite was for lease. The Viet America Society's Huntington Beach office with a sign on its door saying the suite was available for lease on Thursday, March 28, 2024.An office suite in Huntington Beach shown on July 1, 2024. Previously, the door featured Viet America Society's logo.Last month, Winchell told LAist the nonprofit was still serving meals under its county-funded program at Perfume River, a restaurant in Westminster that public records show being managed in 2022 and this April by people who also have been listed in top leadership roles at VAS. For the last several months, Viet America Society has been listed as delinquent on its state charity status with the California Attorney General. That means it “is not in good standing and is prohibited from engaging in conduct for which registration is required, including soliciting or disbursing charitable funds,” according to
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