Lack of controls' in PublicGuardian's Office detailed Number of victims, amount stolen unclear, investigator says

Kathleen Wilson kwilson@VenturaCountyStar.com

The Public Guardian's Office was in such chaos that investigators couldn't tell how much was stolen or the number of victims, newly released court documents showed Monday.

In an affidavit, investigator Mark Volpei wrote that county Treasurer-Tax Collector Larry Matheney could not recall signing cards setting up bank accounts for disabled clients that were allegedly raided by employees. Matheney also did not tell Volpei about a warning from a retiring employee about missing funds, the document says.

The elected official signed a card authorizing an account held in the name of Joan Van Asselt, who lost $21,446, and another client who lost a little more than $1,000, the affidavit shows. Such an authorization was not normal protocol of the office, which manages the assets of mentally disabled and elderly people when their families cannot do so.

According to the affidavit, a former manager told Volpei that there never is a time when staff "should ever endorse a check for a client or ever open an account on behalf of a client."

Matheney said Monday that he could recall signing only one signature card and that one only vaguely.

As for Van Asselt's account, he could not recall any details. He signed the card in 2003, according to the court record.

"I have no idea how my name got on that account," Matheney said.

He maintains that he has cleaned up 90 percent of the problems in the office. However, he has asked the Board of Supervisors to rescind his 9 percent raise, a step the board is poised to take today. The thefts occurred over almost two years and came to light in 2005 after an elderly schoolteacher was forced to move to a new care home because her account had been depleted.

More than $93,000 has been stolen, but the full tally may never be known.

Lawyer seeks explanation

Attorney Ron Bamieh, who represents the daughter of Van Asselt, said the thefts started after Matheney signed the card for the bank account.

"There is no reason why he should be the signature on a phantom account where money is being laundered," he said. "I would like Mr. Matheney's explanation."

Bamieh said his read of the affidavit was that Matheney had intentionally misled the investigator. In the affidavit, Volpei said that Matheney never told him during the investigation that he had signed the signature card. Nor did he tell him of the conversation with the retiring employee, Volpei said.

Christine Manson, who retired from the Guardian's Office in July 2005, told Volpei that she reported missing funds to Matheney. She told him that she saw no evidence the funds had been credited to the estates of deceased clients, according to the investigator's statement.

"Mr. Matheney told Ms. Manson not to worry about the issue and to enjoy her retirement," Volpei wrote.

Matheney said he did not deny signing the cards, but merely could not recall doing so. He could not recall the conversation with Manson.

Volpei also said that 10 client files were missing, records that Matheney said Monday have never surfaced to his knowledge.

The investigator said he could determine losses for people who received regular income checks, but that "due to lack of controls in the Public Guardian's Office" it would be easy to steal random checks or those that resulted from the closing of client accounts.

County supervisors last week authorized an independent audit of the agency at Matheney's request. The District Attorney's Office had initially asked for $25,000 for an audit but dropped the idea.

"We're not sure $25,000 really would have covered the complete audit," said Jim Ellison, chief assistant district attorney. "Then it became an issue of who is the appropriate agency to conduct an audit."

Esther Torres Anaya, a former employee who was arrested last year, is scheduled to be sentenced today for theft, fraud and embezzlement. She had faced more than 50 years in prison but could receive anything from probation to 10 years after cooperating with the Ventura County Criminal Grand Jury.

Anaya was one of more than 50 witnesses testifying before the Grand Jury, which indicted former deputy guardian Juanita Browne and a custodian she allegedly hired. They have not yet entered pleas, but attorneys have said they intend to plead not guilty.

'A matter of public integrity'

Mark Pachowicz, an attorney acting on Browne's behalf, asked Judge Barry Klopfer not to unseal the court documents Monday, but he was overruled. Pachowicz said in an interview that he feared the documents could deprive his client of her right to a fair trial.

Ellison declined to comment on Matheney's conduct. He said prosecutors cannot comment on a number of issues because the prosecution is ongoing and the transcript of the Grand Jury proceedings has not yet been released. That is not expected before Dec. 21. "The DA's office is taking this very seriously," Ellison said. "We view this as a matter of public integrity. We will continue to look at the case."