Tamara Wallace resigned as mayor of South Lake Tahoe on October 13, 2025, after publicly confessing that she had embezzled more than $300,000 from the Lake Tahoe Community Presbyterian Church, where she worked as a part-time bookkeeper.1Sacramento Bee. South Lake Tahoe Mayor Resigns After Admitting to Church Theft The El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office is now investigating, and a civil suit is also underway. As of the most recent reporting, no criminal charges had been publicly announced.
What Wallace Confessed To
Wallace had been bookkeeper and administrator at the Presbyterian church since roughly 2018. Preliminary estimates put the total she took at more than $360,000, drained from accounts that included a children’s fund and money set aside for overseas ministries.2Sacramento Bee. South Lake Tahoe Mayor Tamara Wallace3Sacramento Bee. South Lake Tahoe Church Embezzlement
The theft surfaced only because Wallace stopped showing up. The church treasurer went to pay a utility bill, Pastor Greg Hughes retrieved the computer password so the lights would stay on, and the treasurer then found the accounts empty. The church fired Wallace on September 26, 2025, and reported her to law enforcement.4Sacramento Bee. South Lake Tahoe Church Theft Investigation5Christian Post. South Lake Tahoe Mayor Resigns After Stealing Church Funds
The Public Letter
On October 5, 2025, Wallace sent open letters to the Tahoe Daily Tribune and SouthTahoeNow.com admitting the theft. “Sorry is not a strong enough word to explain the depths of my regret and shame,” she wrote.1Sacramento Bee. South Lake Tahoe Mayor Resigns After Admitting to Church Theft She said she had intended the money to support the three children of her late son, Christopher, who died of fentanyl poisoning.6San Francisco Chronicle. South Lake Tahoe Mayor Church Embezzlement Amount
Wallace also disclosed a suicide attempt on September 11, 2025, her birthday, and an 18-day stay in a mental health facility afterward. She described a history that included childhood sexual abuse and family illnesses, and she pledged to “repay every cent.”7KTVU. South Lake Tahoe Mayor Stolen Money Church8MyNews4. South Lake Tahoe Mayor Admits Embezzlement, Shares Mental Health Crisis in Letter to Media9Insurance News Net. Lake Tahoe Mayor Who Resigned Was Accused of Theft in 2006
One claim in the letter drew immediate pushback. Wallace wrote that she had turned herself in to the church and handed over account numbers and passwords. The church’s attorney, Philip Dunn, told reporters the church had found the missing money on its own and called Wallace’s account of coming forward voluntarily “totally untrue.”6San Francisco Chronicle. South Lake Tahoe Mayor Church Embezzlement Amount
An Earlier Theft She Did Not Mention
Court records show this was not the first time Wallace was linked to stolen funds. A “theft of funds” involving Wallace surfaced in April 2006, prompting a $122,193.16 insurance payout by Federal Insurance Company. Wallace signed a promissory note that June acknowledging the debt.10SouthTahoeNow. Fool Me Twice: What the Mayor Did Not Confess
She repaid roughly $12,000 before stopping payments in 2017. Federal Insurance Company sued her in El Dorado County Superior Court in 2021 over the default. By 2022, the unpaid balance had grown to about $110,000, a judge ordered her to repay the company, and she signed a new promissory note.9Insurance News Net. Lake Tahoe Mayor Who Resigned Was Accused of Theft in 2006 Wallace did not mention any of this in her public confession. A background check the church ran when it hired her had not flagged prior misconduct.4Sacramento Bee. South Lake Tahoe Church Theft Investigation
The Resignation
Pressure to step down built quickly. On October 13, 2025, Councilmember Scott Robbins published an open letter arguing that Wallace’s continued role “would raise legitimate ethical doubts about corruption in a city that now faces a serious lack of public trust.” He listed possible consequences the council could pursue, including censure, removal from board assignments, and a citizens’ recall.11SouthTahoeNow. Mayor Wallace Must Resign Immediately
That same night, at 10:55 p.m., Wallace emailed her resignation to the city manager, city clerk, and city attorney, effective immediately. She used the letter to add one more line: “I urge Mayor Pro Tem Cody Bass to resign as well.”12Tahoe Daily Tribune. Tamara Wallace Resigns as Mayor She had been serving her second, nonconsecutive term as mayor, a one-year rotating post on the five-member council.2Sacramento Bee. South Lake Tahoe Mayor Tamara Wallace
Where the Cases Stand
The El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office took over the embezzlement investigation. The case was moved out of local hands because Wallace, as mayor, had oversight of the South Lake Tahoe Police Department, creating a conflict of interest.13CarsOnNow. South Lake Tahoe Mayor Admits Embezzlement in Letter; Mayor Pro Tem Arrested for Alleged Assault Federal Insurance Company has also filed a civil lawsuit against Wallace tied to the stolen funds.4Sacramento Bee. South Lake Tahoe Church Theft Investigation
Wallace wrote in her confession that she expected criminal charges.9Insurance News Net. Lake Tahoe Mayor Who Resigned Was Accused of Theft in 2006 None had been publicly announced as of the most recent available reporting. The church’s board said it remained “committed to prayer, compassion, transparency, and justice.” Pastor Hughes told reporters the congregation was praying for Wallace: “We wish her well. I hope this can be a turning point in her life.”4Sacramento Bee. South Lake Tahoe Church Theft Investigation
Who Runs South Lake Tahoe Now
Under city code, the council had 60 days to either call a special election or fill Wallace’s seat by appointment. A special election would have taken 114 days and carried added cost. The council chose appointment.14Tahoe Daily Tribune. How Will City Council Fill Its Open Seat
Cody Bass, the mayor pro tem Wallace had called on to resign, was appointed mayor in late October 2025 to finish the year, and was reselected as mayor when the council reorganized on January 13, 2026. Bass was facing his own misdemeanor trespassing and harassment charges out of Douglas County, Nevada, after a September 25, 2025 incident at a Stateline bar; he has denied entering the business and said he was falsely arrested.15CBS News Sacramento. South Lake Tahoe Mayor Arrest Outside Stateline Bar13CarsOnNow. South Lake Tahoe Mayor Admits Embezzlement in Letter; Mayor Pro Tem Arrested for Alleged Assault David Jinkens was appointed to fill Wallace’s vacant seat through November 2026. Keith Roberts was selected as mayor pro tem. Heather Horgan and Scott Robbins hold the remaining seats.16Tahoe Daily Tribune. South Lake Tahoe City Council Selects Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem17City of South Lake Tahoe. City Council