A man accused of sending bribes to former OC Supervisor Andrew Do is now suing the disgraced leader for $50 million, claiming Do took advantage of their friendship and his limited legal knowledge to extort him and cause his criminal prosecution.
Founder and president of Viet America Society Peter Pham filed the complaint yesterday in San Diego Superior Court. It is a cross-complaint filed in the same case where Orange County sued Do, Pham and others, trying to recover money from a meals program for seniors and others in need that was not carried out as intended during the pandemic.
Do has been sentenced to five years in jail for accepting more than $800,000 in bribes in a scheme involving the embezzlement of millions in COVID-relief funds. He told federal prosecutors he had directed contracts to Viet America Society and Hand-to-Hand Relief Organization Inc., the former of which kicked money back to Do through payments to his daughter, Rhiannon Do.
In the new complaint, Pham accuses Do of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization law, or RICO, through extortion and entrapment, calling Do the “leader of his ‘corrupt’ enterprise.” Pham is asking for $50 million in damages.
The lawsuit frames Pham as a close friend of Do who was betrayed, leading to the county suing him and his nonprofit, the seizure of Viet America Society’s bank account and Pham’s federal indictment.
“Peter Pham and VAS has been the subjects of disgraced media reviews, and ridiculed by friends and business associates,” the complaint said, adding Pham has had “his business destroyed, and his future affected.”
Both Do and his daughter, Rhiannon, are targeted by the lawsuit. The money Pham and others gave Do, which the former supervisor said in his criminal plea deal were bribes, were loans in Pham’s retelling of what happened.
Their association started as a friendship that developed into a business relationship, the lawsuit said. At many times, according to the complaint, Do requested and obtained personal loans from Pham.
Do used his position on the Board of Supervisors “to extort monies” from Pham and Viet America Society, according to the complaint. Do had originally labeled the requests as a loan from his friend, but later said they were bribes in court “to save his daughter from jail … a complete betrayal (of Pham).”
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Pham was indicted in June on multiple felony charges, including wire fraud, concealment of money laundering and bribery. The federal government also seized a VAS bank account with at least $1.7 million in it.
Pham has not appeared in court since and is considered a fugitive from justice after buying a one-way ticket from Taiwan, Department of Justice officials have said.
According to the complaint filed Wednesday, Pham was under legal advice to “stay away.”
A lawyer representing Pham’s criminal defense declined to comment Thursday on that point made in the complaint.
Do’s civil attorney did not respond to a request for comment.
This is the second time Do and his daughter have been sued by one of the organizations with which he is said to have schemed. Aloha Financial Investment Inc., which was contracted by VAS to complete the meals program, sued the Dos in July for $15 million, also claiming that the money was given as a loan and not a bribe.
Do reported to federal prison last month in Tucson, Arizona. He’s currently scheduled to be released on Nov. 16, 2029.