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Former Social Services employee arrested for thefts from individuals under conservatorship
Susan Marlowe, 44, of Lakeport was arrested earlier this week, said Lt. Corey Paulich of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Paulich said Marlowe formerly was a deputy public guardian and deputy public administrator for Lake County Adult Protective Services, which is part of Social Services.
On April 2, a Lake County Sheriff’s deputy was contacted by personnel from Lake County Social Services regarding the theft of debit cards from one of their offices, Paulich said.
Paulich said the debit cards had been issued as part of the economic impact payments to individuals who were under conservatorship with Social Services. Each debit card had a value of $600. A total of 21 stimulus debit cards were reported missing.
During the investigation it was determined Marlowe had access to the debit cards. Paulich said her employment with Lake County ended on March 10.
Paulich said that during the investigation into the stolen debit cards, personnel from Lake County Social Services found suspicious activity in the bank account of a Lake County resident who was under conservatorship. Marlowe had been the deputy public guardian/deputy public administrator who managed the conservatee.
The case was assigned to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Major Crime Unit, Paulich said.
He said detectives contacted the Lake County Department of Social Services, which assisted with the investigation.
Multiple search warrants were authored to obtain business records and bank records which were related to the investigation. Paulich said a detailed examination of bank records located four large withdrawals from the conservatee’s bank account.
Additional records were obtained through search warrants which showed the four withdrawals were used to make payments to a personal loan belonging to Marlowe. Paulich said the payments totaled approximately $5,800.
On June 10, a search warrant was served at Marlowe’s residence in Finley, Paulich said.
Paulich said Marlowe was contacted and interviewed. During the interview Marlowe admitted to using between six and 10 of the debit cards for her personal use. She also admitted to using the conservatee’s bank account to make payments on her loan.
The investigation continued and additional business and bank records were sought. Upon the receipt of the additional records, it was determined that Marlowe was responsible for three additional withdrawals from the conservatee’s bank account in December 2019, with those withdrawals totaling approximately $6,600, Paulich said.
The withdrawals were the result of three fake invoices that Paulich said Marlowe created for home repairs which did not occur to the conservatee's residence.
The case was forwarded to the Lake County District Attorney’s Office for review. Paulich said the case was filed with the Lake County Superior Court and an arrest warrant for Marlowe was issued with a bail of $50,000.
Paulich said detectives attempted to arrest Marlowe on the warrant, but determined she was out of state.
On Tuesday, Aug. 24, Marlowe surrendered herself at the Lake County Superior Court and the arrest warrant was recalled, Paulich said.
Marlowe was released on her own recognizance. Paulich said she is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 8.
Paulich said investigators suspect that Marlowe is responsible for the theft of all of the debit cards.
Anyone with information related to this case is asked to contact Det. Todd Dunia at 707-262-4232 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .