The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office charged two women with conspiracy and grand theft for an alleged 16-year embezzlement from PlanMember Financial Corporation in Carpinteria.
Delia Guerrero, 63, and her daughter, Delilah Strother, 43, of Oxnard, were arrested last week and formally charged with several felonies on Friday.
The criminal complaint alleges that Guerrero worked at PlanMember Financial, a financial services business that has a location at 6167 Carpinteria Ave.
Strother opened a bank account in 2008, and Guerrero added that account number to the vendor payment distribution list for PlanMember, the complaint alleges.
The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office charged both women with multiple felonies, including conspiracy to commit grand theft by embezzlement; grand theft; and special allegations of stealing more than $500,000 between February 2008 and July 2024.
In August 2024, someone asked about payments going to vendor Robert William, the false vendor account that Guerrero set up, the complaint alleges. Guerrero lied and told the person it was added by mistake and had been corrected, prosecutors said.
Strother unsuccessfully attempted to withdraw $20,000 in cash from the connected bank account on March 1, 2025, the criminal complaint states. That was allegedly after Guerrero had been confronted about the embezzlement and was put on leave by PlanMember pending an investigation, authorities said.
Strother tried again five days later and was able to withdraw the money, “knowing that at least (a) portion of those funds were embezzled funds from PlanMember Financial Corporation,” the complaint states.
Both women were also charged with false entry in a book of records for the vendor name and number; theft of identifying information; identity theft for obtaining personal information about Robert Williams (deceased) without authorization; and special allegations and aggravating factors.
Guerrero and Strother were arraigned in Superior Court on Friday, and each pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
They were booked into the County Jail when they were arrested Wednesday and remained in custody as of Monday morning.