Prosecutors are investigating allegations that at least one Madera County employee broke state law by buying the property of people who died while under the county's care.
The Madera County District Attorney's Office began its investigation of the three-person Public Guardian's Office several months ago. Last month, the department's director, Dennis Blessing, resigned and the other two employees -- the chief public guardian, Colleen Nielsen, and the deputy public guardian, Heather Young -- were placed on administrative leave.
Nielsen has since returned to her job. Young, however, remains the focus of a criminal investigation, according to court records.
The Public Guardian's Office acts as a conservator for about 160 people in Madera County who are disabled or unable to care for themselves and don't have anyone else who can oversee their day-to-day activities and finances. The office also sells off the property of those clients -- called "conservatees" -- who die or must pay off debt. About a dozen such estate sales occur every year in Madera County, Blessing said.
Two search warrants issued by a judge last month gave investigators permission to search the Public Guardian's Office, Young's house and a county-owned vehicle she used. One warrant said that investigators should look for evidence "relating to sales and purchases of personal property from conservatees' estates, which Young had been entrusted with."
It went on to say authorities should look for records "which would tend to show any evidence ... that Heather Young or other members of the Public Guardian's Office were engaged in embezzling property entrusted to that office."
State law does not allow public guardian officials -- or their relatives -- to buy property from a client's estate unless it is at a public sale. Public guardians play a role in setting the value of client property and could sell it to themselves or a relative at a discounted price, thereby shortchanging the estate, said Dr. David Hadden, the Fresno County public guardian and coroner.
"There's just all kinds of ways to game the system," much like insider trading in the business world, he said.
Blessing, who had been director of the Public Guardian's Office since March 2004, said his office sometimes consulted with outside experts to help determine the value of a client's estate, but his office almost always had the final say. He said that it was also common for him or his staff to be in charge of selling the property.
Blessing said that he never bought any property from the estates. He said he didn't know whether Young did.
Blessing said he found out about the investigation on Sept. 14 when investigators searched his office. Three days later, the District Attorney's Office publicly announced that it had conducted the search but didn't offer any details. Blessing submitted his resignation letter that same day.
The resignation was unrelated to the investigation, Blessing said. He said he had been thinking about resigning for quite some time because of a "serious medical condition."
"I was undergoing a lot of medical tests and I knew I was going to have to get out of the job," Blessing said. "When this popped up, it was the perfect opportunity" to resign.
Blessing's attorney, Thornton Davidson of Fresno, said his client doesn't face criminal charges.
"There's some investigation of particular sales that were transacted by Mr. Blessing's office and there's some concern that some of those sales were not done at arm's length," Davidson said. "Mr. Blessing had no participation in those sales and denies any foreknowledge that any other party was engaging in any impropriety."
Asked whether the investigation brings into question whether he provided enough oversight in his office, Blessing declined to comment.
Young, who has worked at the Public Guardian's Office for about four years, declined to comment. Her Fresno attorney, Roger Wilson, would not talk about the allegations against her, but he said Young has not committed any crime.
"She's tried to do her job to the best of her ability and follow the advice of her superiors," Wilson said.
He said Young is still on administrative leave and that the county is threatening to fire her. He said she would appeal any such move.
Lonn Boyer, the county's human resources director, declined to comment about the investigation. He said that employees in the Public Guardian's Office are "all going through various stages of employment and personnel issues."
District Attorney Michael Keitz also declined to comment on the investigation. The court affidavits for the search warrants have been sealed.
Glenn Mays, a former director of the Public Guardian's Office, is now the interim director. He did not return calls.
Steven Rodriguez, the county's top administrator, declined to talk about the investigation, but said he believes Madera County residents can still trust the Public Guardian's Office.
"They're continuing to provide services," he said. "There's no interruption in those services."
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