It’s the kind of story no one wants to believe could happen—especially not in your own office.

But in Carpinteria, it did.

According to Noozhawk, a mother and daughter from Oxnard were recently charged with grand theft and conspiracy after allegedly embezzling over $500,000 from PlanMember Financial over the span of 16 years.

That’s not a typo. This scheme reportedly began in 2008 and went undetected until 2024.

🏦 The Alleged Scam: A False Vendor Account, Set Up in Plain Sight

Here’s what prosecutors say happened:

  • The mother, Delia Guerrero, worked at the financial firm.
  • Her daughter, Delilah Strother, opened a bank account in 2008.
  • Guerrero then added that account to the company’s vendor payment system—using the name “Robert William,” a false vendor tied to a deceased person.
  • Payments continued for years.
  • When someone finally questioned it, Guerrero allegedly claimed it was a mistake and said it had been “corrected.”
  • But the payments didn’t stop.

According to court documents, Strother even attempted to withdraw cash from the account after her mother was placed on leave.

This wasn’t just a one-time slip. It was a long-term, deeply embedded deception—executed through gaps in vendor management, bookkeeping oversight, and internal controls.

💡 What This Case Teaches Us About Small Business Risk

You don’t need to be a financial firm to learn from this. The truth is: fraud like this doesn’t start big—it starts quiet.

A single unauthorized vendor.
A payment that no one questions.
A lie that no one checks.

Over time, those small lapses can snowball into something catastrophic.

And here’s the part most business owners overlook: if no one is watching the numbers closely, it’s easy for fraud to hide.

🧾 Bookkeeping Is Your Early Warning System

At Synergy Computing, we’ve spent years helping businesses prevent cyber threats—but cases like this prove something else: you also need someone watching the books.

That’s why we created Synergy Bookkeeping—a local, transparent, fully integrated service that gives you financial visibility and control.

We’re not talking about just tax prep. We’re talking about:

✅ Regular vendor audits and reconciliations
✅ Reviews of recurring payments and bank accounts
✅ Alerts for anything that doesn’t match your records
✅ Clean, simple reports you actually understand
✅ Integration with your IT security strategy for full-circle protection

When your tech and finances talk to each other, fraud has nowhere to hide.

📍 Local Businesses Need Local Oversight

We’re based right here in Santa Barbara. We know how our community works—and we know that trust is everything.

With Synergy Bookkeeping, you get:

🔐 Encrypted financial systems and secure workflows
📈 Ongoing transaction monitoring and reporting
📋 A clear process for tracking vendors and expenses
📍 Real, local professionals you can call when you need help

No call centers. No outsourcing. No surprises.

Just clarity, consistency, and confidence.

🛑 Don’t Wait 16 Years to Find Out What’s Really Going On

We’re not trying to scare anyone—but the numbers speak for themselves. If a trusted employee can steal half a million dollars over a decade and a half at a well-established financial firm… it can happen to anyone.

👉 Let’s talk.
👉 Let’s look at your financial systems, vendor lists, and internal controls.
👉 Let’s make sure your business is buttoned up—from the server room to the books.

Let’s keep your business off the front page—and out of court.

📞 Call Synergy Computing today
💬 Schedule a free security + bookkeeping checkup
🔒 We’ll help you lock down your business from the inside out

Because no one plans for embezzlement—but with the right systems, you can absolutely prevent it.