Former Supervisor Andrew Do must pay the county of Orange $878,000 in restitution for the bribes he took while in office, a federal judge ruled on Monday, Aug. 11, in Santa Ana.
The amount is what prosecutors had sought, in line with how much Do received in bribes, but is far less than the $10.2 million county officials had urged for.
Do was sentenced in June to five years in federal prison for receiving $868,000 in bribes in a scheme involving the alleged embezzlement of millions in COVID-relief funds that forced his resignation and has seen others face criminal charges. He was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit bribery as part of his plea agreement with federal prosecutors.
U.S. District Court Judge James V. Selna made the ruling.
The point of Monday’s restitution hearing was to determine how much Do owes the county for his role in directing contracts to two organizations for meals programs, which prosecutors say were not carried out as intended. The county is also getting paid the $9,600 in legal expenses it incurred for his prosecution.
County officials asked the judge to rule that Do owes the county $10.2 million — the entire amount in contracts he steered to Viet America Society.
Do’s defense attorneys agreed on the amount the former supervisor took in bribes, but said the restitution should be reduced by about $66,000 for work his daughter did with Viet America Society. Their argument was unsuccessful with the judge.
The federal government has already seized several financial assets Do had a stake in.
That includes a Tustin home his daughter purchased using some of the money that is considered bribes to Do, commercial property in Santa Ana and bank accounts tied to the nonprofits alleged to be involved.
Those seized assets can’t be credited to what Do owes in restitution.
A court filing ahead of the restitution hearing said federal courts don’t have the authority to direct forfeited property to restitution. Only the U.S. attorney general has that power, according to prosecutors.
The county can petition the attorney general for the money, but that requires Do to not have enough money to pay his restitution amount, according to prosecutors.
Do is expected to report this week to a federal prison. He did not appear in court Monday.
D. Kevin Dunn, an attorney for the county spoke to the judge during the hearing asking for $10.2 million in restitution.
He said Do’s conduct affected “the hungry residents of Orange County during the pandemic,” who suffered without the assistance they were supposed to receive.
Do’s defense attorneys said he was not present since he was preparing to surrender himself to go to prison.
Selna took issue with Do’s absence and recessed the court hearing for an hour until his defense attorneys filed a waiver.
After the hearing, Do’s attorney Paul Meyer said, “The court’s ruling says it all.”