Ellicott City Woman Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud

Baltimore, Maryland – Today, Jennifer Tinker, 41, of Ellicott City, Maryland, pleaded guilty to a federal charge of wire fraud.

Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the guilty plea with Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno, of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

According to the guilty plea, between January 2020 and November 2023, Tinker defrauded a real estate agency that she worked for by transferring more than $1 million of company funds through wire transfers, Zelle payments, checks, and ACH to her personal bank accounts. Tinker fraudulently embezzled funds from the real estate agency’s accounts – including its escrow, operating, and commission accounts.

Tinker hid the transfers by listing fictitious “recipients” on the wire transfer paperwork to make them appear legitimate. She then wired the stolen funds into her personal bank accounts. Between approximately February 2021 and November 2023, Tinker wired money to her personal accounts more than 90 times. Additionally, Tinker made false and fraudulent edits and entries into her employer’s internal accounting records to conceal the transfers.

The defendant used the funds that she stole from her employer to pay for luxury goods and personal expenditures such as vacations, Taylor Swift tickets, and five different vehicles.

Tinker faces a maximum of 20 years in prison followed by up to a lifetime of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Adam B. Abelson scheduled sentencing for April 10, 2025, at 10 a.m.

U.S. Attorney Barron commended the FBI for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph L. Wenner who is prosecuting the federal case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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