BERLIN, Md. - A Berlin woman has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $1.7 million from an Ocean City home builder over an eight-year period, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Tammy Barcus, 56, admitted in court to wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and tax evasion, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland. Barcus was the office manager and bookkeeper for the business and used her trusted position to forge at least 500 business checks and funnel the money into accounts she controlled.
U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes said Barcus “abused her position of trust” and used her access to the company’s financial systems to commit the fraud between 2016 and 2024.
Court documents show that Barcus routinely forged the signature of one of the business’s owners to issue fraudulent checks, which she then deposited into her own accounts. She manipulated the company’s financial records to hide the theft and failed to report the embezzled funds to the IRS.
Prosecutors said Barcus also made false entries into the company’s books and commingled stolen funds to obscure the transactions. Her actions amounted to an extensive and calculated effort to defraud both her employer and the federal government.
Barcus faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for wire fraud, five years for tax evasion, and a mandatory two-year sentence for aggravated identity theft that must be served consecutively.
A federal judge will determine her sentence on Feb. 9, 2026. Sentencing guidelines and statutory factors will be taken into account, so the final sentence may be less than the maximum possible penalties.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, Washington D.C. Field Office. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Murphy and Assistant U.S. Attorney Harry Gruber are prosecuting the case.