Mother & Daughter Arrested Following 16 Years of Alleged Embezzlement
By F. Scott Faulkner
OXNARD, CA — May 21, 2025
A mother and daughter from Oxnard are facing a long list of felony charges for allegedly stealing
more than half a million dollars over 16 years from a financial services company in Carpinteria.
Delia Guerrero, 63, and her daughter Delilah Strother, 43, were arrested on the morning of May
14 on suspicion of multiple financial crimes.
According to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office, since February 2008 Guerrero
worked at a Carpinteria financial services company. That same year, her daughter “opened a
bank account” which was added to the company’s vendor payment list under a fictitious name.
From February 2008 through July 2024, “the two women funneled over $500,000 in payments
into that fraudulent account.”
When Strother attempted to withdraw $20,000 from the linked account on March 1, 2025, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department detectives were alerted
and made their move.
In collaboration with Oxnard Police detectives, contact was made with the mother-daughter duo
at their Oxnard residence, where they were summarily taken into custody.
Both women were transported to Santa Barbara County Jail where they were booked on charges of identity theft,
use of personal identifying information, and false entries in corporate records.
According to SBSD Public Information Officer Raquel Zick, “both women are facing special
allegations related to the amount of money stolen.”
