WASHINGTON – Barry Tillman, 59, who worked as the office manager for a church and its affiliated non-profit organization, has been sentenced to 156 days of incarceration and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service for a scheme in which he embezzled over $150,000, U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips announced.

            Tillman, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty in April 2016 to wire fraud. He was sentenced on July 13, 2016, by the Honorable Rudolph Contreras in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Upon completion of the jail time, which is to be served over 52 weekends, he will be placed on five years of probation. Tillman also must pay a total of $153,754 in restitution.

            According to the government’s evidence, Tillman began work in 2008 as an office manager for the Wisconsin Avenue Baptist Church, as well as City Gate, an affiliated non-profit organization that provided support for youth through after-school and summer educational programs. The organization also provided support to low-income families by supplying meals and job training. Tillman’s responsibilities included bookkeeping and accounting duties.

            From January 2009 through May 2013, Tillman processed salary payments to himself through both direct deposit and salary checks. He allowed the direct deposits knowing that he was receiving his salary by check, which resulted in him being paid twice. He kept a total of $153,754 of these electronic transfers for himself for his own use and benefit.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Phillips commended the work of those who investigated the case, including Criminal Investigator Juan Juarez of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). He also acknowledged the efforts of others who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Criminal Investigator Stephen Cohen; Paralegal Specialist Kaitlyn Krueger; Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Duvall; former Paralegal Specialist Jessica Mundi, and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia Jarrett. Finally, he expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Teresa A. Howie, who investigated and prosecuted the case.