Former Ocean City office manager sentenced to 4 years for $1.7M embezzlement scheme

BALTIMORE (WBFF) — A former office manager for an Ocean City home builder has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for embezzling more than $1.7 million from her employer over an eight-year period.

Tammy Barcus, 57, of Berlin, Maryland, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Maddox to 48 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release.

In addition to the prison term, Barcus was ordered to pay $1,793,688.87 in restitution to the home builder and $562,883 to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The court also imposed a forfeiture money judgment of $1,793,688.87.

Barcus pleaded guilty to wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and tax evasion in connection with the scheme, which spanned from 2016 through 2024.

According to court documents, Barcus worked as an office manager and bookkeeper for an Ocean City-based construction company, where she was entrusted with substantial control over the company’s financial records and accounts.

ALSO READ | Maryland financial advisor sentenced to 18 months in jail for theft and fraud

Prosecutors said she exploited that trust by issuing more than 500 fraudulently authorized checks from the company’s business bank account.

Authorities said Barcus forged the signature of one of the company’s owners on the checks and deposited the funds into bank accounts she controlled.

She then used the stolen money to cover personal expenses, including vehicle payments, boat payments, mortgage payments and other personal expenditures.

Investigators determined that Barcus concealed the theft from both her employer and the IRS by making false entries in the company’s books and records.

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence alongside Kareem Carter, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Washington, D.C. Field Office. Hayes commended IRS-CI for its investigative work.