Orange County is requesting a nonprofit charity return $2.2 million it was awarded during the pandemic, citing inadequate documentation of spending.
Viet America Society (VAS) has been asked to reimburse the county for the money that was allocated to feed needy seniors, according to county letters sent to the group obtained by The Epoch Times. The request follows the organization’s alleged failure to submit an audit of its work and expenditures by deadline.
The dispute gained attention after it was revealed that the group has connections to Supervisor Andrew Do’s 22-year-old daughter, Rhiannon Do. Current law does not require public officials to disclose such connections.
In the letters, the county instructed the group on July 26 to return nearly $2 million for payments made under a contract for fiscal year 2021–22, along with $200,000 for payments from a contract for fiscal year 2020–21. The funds were part of federal COVID-19 relief money provided by President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan.
In the letters, the county said the group failed to provide accurate records or clear explanations to justify its payment requests to the county.
Furthermore, the county said some of the transactions the group submitted “raise concerns of potential commingling of funds and questionable transitions.”
The letters listed several examples, including a $20,000 donation to another group under a subcontractor agreement, which the county said lacked proper documentation.
“VAS could not provide an executed agreement and proof of approval to subcontract with Santa Anita Neighborhood,” a letter said.
In another instance, the group initially reported providing 20,000 meals per month but later revised the figure to 10,000 without documenting who participated in or dropped out of the program, according to the letter.
“VAS’s performance reports were revised multiple times, and the credibility of the reports submitted was questionable,” the letter said.
The letter also alleged that of 275 participant applications reviewed by the county, only 19 percent could be validated.
According to two of the letters addressed to the group’s Chief Executive Peter Pham and its attorney Sterling Scott Winchell, the county instructed the group on July 26 to return the $2.2 million by Aug. 26.
The county’s letter was issued shortly after the nonprofit terminated its contract with the Pun Group, the accounting firm conducting the federally required audit. According to the letter, the firm had reported that Viet America Society “lacked internal controls, failed to adhere to federal uniform guidelines and funding source guidance, and did not maintain the necessary records to create an audit trail.”
The Orange County Register reported the nonprofit said it will not return the money as there was no misuse of federal funds.
“There’s no way they’re getting that money back,” Winchell told the local newspaper Aug. 6. “The immediate plan is, no, the money was earned.
“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.”
Pham and Winchell did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
An official response from the group is yet to be received by county officials, Board of Supervisors Chairman Donald Wagner told The Epoch Times.
However, he remains hopeful.
“If the audit comes in and shows performance, then we'd be fine,” he said. “We want them to have provided the services and the meals; show us that you did, and we’re good.”
Additionally, Wagner said it’s not uncommon for some of the county’s vendors to submit audits late, but he hopes the group can provide clear answers to the county’s questions.
“It’s not unusual that some of the smaller vendors that we use have not got robust or timely audit responses, and we deal with it in the normal course of things,” he added. “This one just is higher profile.”
Supervisor Katrina Foley also said the county could potentially consider legal action.
“We’re exhausting all the administrative remedies, and we’re in the beginning phases of considering what are other legal options,” Foley told The Epoch Times.
She also said if the county cannot prove the funds were spent properly based on the documents submitted by the nonprofit, the county would need to repay the federal government.
“We’re the stewards of the taxpayer dollars, and it’s our job to ensure that the funds that are allocated are spent according to the terms of the contract,” she said.
