Andrew Do, a former Orange County supervisor, was sentenced to five years in prison after taking over $550,000 in bribes connected to COVID-relief funds intended for vulnerable communities. U.S. District Judge James Selna criticized the leniency of the sentence, stating that public corruption has far-reaching impacts beyond monetary loss. The case surfaced in 2023, revealing that Do funneled over $10 million to a nonprofit linked to his daughters while claiming to support elderly residents with meals, showing little evidence of actual service. Do's initial defensiveness eventually led to his resignation and guilty plea.
I just do not believe a sentence anything less than the maximum reflects the seriousness of the crime. Public corruption brings damage far beyond the monetary loss to the county.
Do fled war-torn Vietnam with his family as a child to become an attorney and one of Southern California's most powerful Vietnamese American politicians.
The scandal was uncovered in 2023 by the news site LAist, which reported that Do approved contracts worth millions to the nonprofit, which promised to provide meals to the poor, elderly and disabled residents of Little Saigon.
As accusations mounted, Do claimed he was the victim of slander, responding with defiant vitriol against the reporter who broke the story.
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