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Susan Harris

operator convicted

What this page is

Convicted in a public proceeding.

This page records only the legal facts of a public proceeding, each with its own source. It contains no addresses, contact details, family information or speculation, by policy, see the editorial policy. Last reviewed 2026-10-25.

  1. Co-founded Ayudando Alpha, Inc., doing business as Ayudando Guardians, Inc., with Sharon Moore in November 2006, and served as its president and majority (95 percent) owner. source
  2. Was named in a sealed 28-count federal indictment returned July 11, 2017, charging conspiracy, mail fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering tied to the embezzlement of more than $11 million from the company's clients. source
  3. Pleaded guilty, then fled New Mexico with her husband William Harris in March 2020 rather than appear for sentencing; US Marshals captured the couple weeks later in Shawnee, Oklahoma, living under assumed names. source
  4. Was sentenced to 47 years in federal prison, the longest sentence of the four defendants convicted in the case. source
  5. Was ordered to pay a $6.8 million money judgment as restitution; a 2025 settlement with the company's insurer and asset forfeiture recovered nearly $5 million toward restitution for 969 identified victims. source

Susan Harris was the architect and majority owner of Ayudando Guardians, a New Mexico guardianship and representative-payee company she co-founded in 2006 that grew to serve close to 1,400 clients, many of them disabled veterans, before its embezzlement of more than $11 million was exposed. Her decision to flee rather than face sentencing, and her eventual capture living under an assumed name, did not change the outcome: she received the longest sentence, 47 years, of anyone convicted in the case.

Cases

Sources

  1. New Mexico Representative Payee and Guardianship Service Charged with Defrauding Hundreds of Beneficiaries. Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General. Accessed 2026-10-25. Supports: Harris's role as co-founder and majority owner, and the indictment's charges and loss figures.
  2. Ayudando Guardians victims get $4.9 million. Albuquerque Journal. Accessed 2026-10-25. Supports: Harris's flight to and capture in Shawnee, Oklahoma, and the restitution judgment and 2025 insurance settlement.
  3. Fugitive couple involved in Ayudando Guardians case sentenced. KRQE News 13. Accessed 2026-10-25. Supports: Harris's 47-year sentence.

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