Feds raid Orange County homes after lawsuit accuses nonprofit of misusing COVID-19 funds
Federal police, including the FBI, raided a Tustin home on Thursday after a lawsuit accused a nonprofit of missing millions of taxpayer dollars.
Property records showed it's the home of the daughter of Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do. She is one of the several people being sued for allegedly embezzling taxpayer funds totaling more than $10 million.
"We call it the 'ghost house,'" a neighbor said. "They're only here on Thursdays to take the empty trash cans out and they show up Friday to bring them in. They don't live here. Nobody's been here for a year and a half."
The neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said he heard agents break down a door Thursday morning and search the garage and a shed in the backyard of Rhiannon Do's house.
"The last 48 hours she has been in and out of the property," "We don't know she's here for 30 minutes and then gone and couple hours later back."
In a lawsuit, county attorneys say that COVID-19 money intended to feed elderly and needy Vietnamese residents was instead used by executives and employees of the nonprofit Viet America Society, including Supervisor Do's 23-year-old daughter. Court documents claim Viet America Societ and its officers and associates brazenly plundered these funds for their own personal gain.
The lawsuit alleges that the defendants used these funds to finance lavish purchases, including real estate and repairs and improvements to such property.
Similar raids happened at a Garden Grove home and another Fountain Valley address. Attorney Mark Rosen, who represents Viet America Society and three of its employees, including Rhiannon Do, denies that they've taken money illegally.
"Not true," Rosen said. "I mean, you run an operation and you make some profit but everybody who was supposed to be served was served. Keep in mind, this started in 2020, it wasn't until August of 2023 that some accountant, who had no prior experience with this, decided we don't have the exact records that we should have had if we were keeping perfect records back in 2020."
The Orange County District Attorney confirmed it's serving search warrants at the various locations as well.
