Orange County is suing a nonprofit group and its officers alleging the group misused millions of dollars of federal funding for personal use.
The lawsuit alleged the Viet American Society used more than $10 million to buy several homes and make cash withdrawals.
The money was meant to help seniors during the pandemic, according to a lawsuit filed in Orange County Superior Court Thursday.
One of the defendants named in the lawsuit is Rhiannon Do, who is the daughter of Orange County supervisor Andrew Do.
The 39-page complaint detailed what county investigators uncovered about how VAS was awarded millions of dollars in pandemic relief funds, which were allocated to provide meals for seniors and the disabled in the Vietnamese community.
The lawsuit comes after two supervisors, including Katrina Foley, asked for an audit of the public funding of the group.
“The funds were being used for personal expenses including purchasing of real property instead of being used to serve the needs of the Vietnamese community,” said Foley who represents the Fifth District. “We’ve been overboard trying to help them do the right thing and prove that the funds were used for the intended purpose which was to help people.”
The lawsuit alleged VAS officers used public funds to buy at least six homes in Orange County including in Garden Grove, Buena Park, Fountain Valley and Santa Ana.
The complaint also detailed a $1 million payment to the group to build a memorial for veterans.
“According to our investigators, they cannot prove they used the funds for these purposes and we don’t have a memorial so we know that didn’t happen,” Foley said.
The lawsuit is seeking Viet American Society to pay back the county $10.4 million.
NBC4 reached out to Supervisor Do’s office and the lawyer representing VAS for comment but has not heard back.
