South Lake Tahoe mayor admits to stealing church funds prior to suicide attempt
South Lake Tahoe Mayor Tamara Wallace said she stole money from the Lake Tahoe Community Presbyterian Church in a letter published Monday in two South Lake Tahoe news organizations.
“Rather than being like many public servants and individuals who try to lie, hide, and delay the consequences of something they have done, I am taking a different path,” Wallace wrote. “I am telling the truth and admitting what I have done.”
The overwhelming guilt, shame and grief from her actions also led Wallace to attempt suicide on her birthday, Sept. 11, she wrote. Wallace recounted in the letter that she suffered repeated traumatic events in her life, such as childhood abuse, parents’ divorce, her child’s illness and more according to letters published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune and SouthLakeTahoeNow.com.
She hopes to “pay the price for what I have done, including paying back every cent I have taken” and also help others in a mental health crisis.
A spokesperson for the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office said they were investigating Wallace’s conduct.
Wallace wrote she felt guilt for “taking funds from a church that, individually and as a group, embraced me, showed me love, and trusted me as their church administrator.”
The Lake Tahoe Community Presbyterian Church did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
She wrote she sought to use those funds to help others, including her dead son’s three children. Her son, Christopher Wallace, died from fentanyl poisoning, she said.
Wallace said she wrote the public letter after a reporter from the Tahoe Daily Tribune was “trying to get a story.” Wallace hoped to be found out, and provided records to the church, according to the letter.
“Sorry is not a strong enough word to explain the depths of my regret and shame” Wallace wrote. “I do not think anyone can be as angry at me as I am at myself.”
Wallace’s term ends in November 2026.
This story was originally published October 6, 2025 at 12:10 PM.