Process server accused of not serving the process

DUNCAN — A process server is accused of falsely saying she did her job when she didn’t.

A felony arrest warrant was issued Wednesday in Stephens County District Court for JanaMarie Haylee Crowell, 34, of Marlow, for a count of offering a false instrument for recordation, records indicate. The crime is punishable by up to two years in prison and/or a fine up to $10,000 and loss of license to be a process server.

Stephens County Sheriff’s Deputy Patrick Norton began investigating the case on Sept. 26, 2024. He learned Crowell had been contracted by Discover Bank to serve a summons to a man and received the paperwork on March, 16, 2024, the warrant affidavit states. 

A process server is an individual who delivers important court documents to an individual who has been summoned to appear in court. When there is a legal proceeding, all parties have to be notified, according to the National Association of Professional Process Servers.

Crowell stated on an affidavit that she served the man in person two days later at his home in Marlow and described him as being between 45 to 55 years old, standing between 5-feet, 10-inches and 6-feet tall and weighing between 140 to 160 lbs., Norton stated.

A judgment was issued against the man on April 26, 2024, and he filed a motion to vacate the judgment on June 17, 2024, stating he was working in Texas at the time Crowell stated she served the paperwork, the affidavit states. The man did not match the description offered by Crowell as he had shoulder length hair, a goatee and weighed around 270 pounds at the time and had never been served, the deputy stated.

Crowell spoke with the deputy and admitted she’d made a false return of the summons and had never served it, according to the affidavit.