Former Museum Business Manager Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud

BOSTON – The former business manager of a local museum pleaded guilty today in federal court in Worcester to embezzling funds from the museum that employed her.

Jennifer Delorey McNamara, 36, of Clinton, pleaded guilty to wire fraud before U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman, who scheduled sentencing for Aug. 2, 2018.

McNamara began working for the Museum of Russian Icons on a part-time basis in mid-2010. In 2012, the Museum promoted McNamara to full-time Business Manager. From approximately 2012 through October 2015, McNamara embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Museum by, amongst other means, failing to deposit cash received by the Museum into the Museum bank account and by repeatedly issuing unauthorized payments to herself from the Museum and depositing those payments into her personal account.

The Museum referred the matter to federal authorities when it became aware of the scope of McNamara’s theft and cooperated with federal investigators throughout the resulting investigation.

McNamara faces a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, a fine of up to twice the loss involved, and restitution. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg A. Friedholm, Chief of Lelling’s Worcester Branch Office, is prosecuting the case.