Maryland woman pleads guilty to embezzling $1 million, using funds for Taylor Swift tickets, luxury items
BALTIMORE -- An Ellicott City woman pleaded guilty Thursday to embezzling more than $1 million from a real estate agency and using the funds to pay for vacations, Taylor Swift tickets and more, according to the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office.
According to her guilty plea, between January 2020 and November 2023, Jennifer Tinker, 41, defrauded the real estate agency that she worked for by transferring over $1 million of company funds to her personal bank accounts, officials said.
Tinker embezzled the funds from the agency's escrow, operating and commission accounts through wire transfers and Zelle payments, according to court officials.
She hid the transfers by listing fake recipients on the wire transfer paperwork in an effort to make it look legitimate. She would then wire the stolen money to her personal account.
Court officials said between February 2021 and November 2023, Tinker wired money to her personal accounts more than 90 times. She also made fraudulent entries in her employer's internal accounting records to cover her transfers.
According to court officials, Tinker used the stolen funds to pay for luxury items and vacations, along with Taylor Swift tickets and five different vehicles.
In 2023, tickets to see Taylor Swift in concert were notoriously expensive and hard for fans to get their hands on, with some reportedly paying upwards of 70 times face value.
Tinker faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for the federal wire fraud charges. She is scheduled for sentencing on April 10, 2024, court officials said.
