State Justice Dept. to investigate thefts in Fresno County Public Administrator’s Office

An investigation of the Fresno County Public Administrator’s Office has been turned over to the state Department of Justice for possible prosecution.

The case follows an internal investigation by the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office that uncovered alleged thefts from the estates of dead people by three employees, District Attorney Lisa A. Smittcamp said.

The alleged thefts had been occurring for several years, she said. The three employees no longer work for Fresno County.

The Public Administrator’s Office was part of the Fresno County Coroner’s Office — although housed separately — until January, when it was made part of the District Attorney’s Office. The Coroner’s Office is now a division of the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office.

The Public Administrator’s Office handles estates of people who die with nobody to oversee them. The discovery was a significant blow to the Public Administrator’s Office, which has just four positions. Three people work on estates. A fourth employee is an accountant. Smittcamp said the office accountant does not appear to be involved. None of the employees have been identified.

Shortly after the transition, the District Attorney’s Office started an investigation into alleged thefts by public administrator employees. It will now be up to the state Department of Justice to determine whether criminal charges stemming from that investigation should be filed in the case.

The Public Administrator’s Office is temporarily being staffed with employees from the District Attorney’s Office. Smittcamp and her staff are working with other county officials to restructure the Public Administrator’s Office.

Smittcamp asked Fresno County supervisors last month to increase staffing at the Public Administrator’s Office and add an on-site supervisor to oversee day-to-day operations. She told supervisors that staffing in the Public Administrator’s Office needs to be more than doubled and suggested that the department be removed from her oversight because of potential conflicts of interest if other similar investigations became necessary.

The volume of work, Smittcamp said, requires 10 public administrator employees instead of four positions that are authorized in the county budget.

She said most larger counties don’t place the Public Administrator’s Office under the district attorney’s supervision because of conflict of interest concerns.

From her own preliminary evaluation, Smittcamp said she found that other counties place the Public Administrator’s Office under the county Tax Collector or Public Guardian’s Office.

This story was originally published July 2, 2015 at 1:14 PM with the headline "State Justice Dept. to investigate thefts in Fresno County Public Administrator’s Office."