CalOptima started their own investigation into Do in September 2024 after officials received a report he\u2019d manipulated a property sale agency staff spent over a year negotiating, with the agency hiring a law firm to look into the allegations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yet a year later, they say they can\u2019t find any evidence Do did anything illegal in their limited investigation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did not identify evidence suggesting that Mr. Do initiated or particularly championed the transaction, or that the offered price was necessarily not justified,\u201d lawyers from the firm Bird & Marella wrote in their report.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/andrewdo_Leopo_-8.jpg\")
Supervisor Andrew Do poses with the American flag during a groundbreaking ceremony on Dec. 8, 2021. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC<\/p>\n
Lawyers also noted their investigation lacked subpoena power or the ability to interview staff under oath, and that they weren\u2019t able to find records of several closed door discussions, forcing them to rely on eyewitness accounts from two to three years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They also noted there were various points where CalOptima staff ignored policies around disclosing closed door conversations to the public and failed to properly handle a multi-million dollar property sale.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did not discover evidence sufficient to prove that anyone acted with criminal intent,\u201d lawyers wrote. \u201cThis is a very different inquiry, however, from the question of whether CalOptima should improve its policies and compliance with those policies. Those are business questions for the Board to consider in the proper context.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
A Fast-Paced Real Estate Proposal\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 2021, a Tustin property zoned for medical use was purchased for $18 million by a small LLC that listed Cuong Nguyen as its sole agent according to state and county property records.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the time, state records show Nguyen was CEO of 360 Clinic, which was already in business with the county government as one of their COVID-19 testing vendors on a $5 million contract.\u00a0<\/p>\n
CalOptima leaders wanted to use the property for a PACE program, which is designed to help elderly residents.\u00a0<\/p>\n
CalOptima staff toured the property and decided to move forward with buying it, with board members signing off on a letter of intent to purchase the property in June 2022 during a closed door discussion.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, they never got a chance to review the final sale agreement, which was signed exclusively by Do for a $29.5 million purchase in August, an $11 million price hike in less than a year according to the report.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCalOptima employees facilitated the execution of the PSA on August 2, 2022, without obtaining \u201cprior approval of the Board,\u201d as required by CalOptima\u2019s Purchasing policy and procedure for any real-estate transaction,\u201d the lawyers wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Veronica Carpenter, one of Do\u2019s former top aides, and CEO Michael Hunn, who was hired while Do was chair of the board, were both listed among the staff members who worked on the deal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/caloptima-2025-leopo-1-2.jpg\")
CalOptima CEO, Michael Hunn, on Oct. 16, 2025. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile Ms. Carpenter and Mr. Hunn intentionally took steps to procure then-Chairman Do\u2019s signature, we did not find evidence that they (or any other CalOptima employee, Board member, or advisor) thought about and intended to disobey CalOptima\u2019s policy,\u201d lawyers wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There were also plans at the time for CalOptima to invest another $18 million in cleaning up the building and modernizing it so it could be used, according to Kelly Bruno, current executive director of Medi-Cal at CalOptima in a 2023 interview with Voice of OC.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Delays Stack Up, Costing Over Nearly Half a Million Dollars<\/p>\n
After Do signed off on the escrow paperwork, the purchase hit a snag \u2014\u00a0 the building wasn\u2019t technically zoned for a PACE center to operate there alongside the recuperative care program staff also wanted to run there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the time, CalOptima leaders argued it would be a great facility for the community as they aimed to help the elderly and homeless people at the site.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not changing a wall or door,\u201d said CalOptima CEO Michael Hunn at a Tustin planning commission meeting in June 2023. \u201cWe want to move in as is, upgrade, and allow services to be provided for seniors.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Their appeals were ultimately denied by the Tustin Planning Commission.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Over a year of appeals, CalOptima had to continue paying non-refundable deposits and escrow extension fees, totalling $460,000 according to the lawyer\u2019s report.\u00a0<\/p>\n
CalOptima ultimately pulled out of the deal, and the building was later sold earlier this year for $19 million \u2014 $10 million less than what was offered to CalOptima \u2014\u00a0 according to property records.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Questions Remain Around What Future Holds<\/p>\n
The report did not examine any of Do\u2019s other work at the agency, which has faced public questioning for years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Do hasn\u2019t served on CalOptima\u2019s board since 2023, when he resigned after he was fined $12,000 for engaging in pay to play politics in an attempt to steer contracts to his campaign donors and a state audit called out the agency\u2019s ballooning $1.2 billion stockpile of cash.\u00a0<\/p>\n