The mayor of South Lake Tahoe has resigned from office after admitting to stealing money from a local church.
Tamara Wallace submitted her resignation to the city on Monday, October 13. A week earlier, Wallace sent a letter to several Northern California media outlets in which she confessed to embezzling money from her employer, Tahoe Community Presbyterian Church.
Wallace said she was so consumed by guilt that she attempted suicide on September 11, 2025. After the attempt failed, Wallace spent 18 days in a mental health facility, according to the letter. She is now in intensive outpatient treatment and taking psychiatric medication.
According to Wallace, she intended to use the stolen funds to help the children of her deceased son. In addition to losing a child, Wallace detailed a litany of traumas she had suffered throughout her life, including longtime childhood abuse and surviving the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks in Washington, D.C.
A lawyer for the church estimates that over $300,000 had been stolen. The church disputes Wallace’s claim that she turned herself in, saying the missing funds were discovered independently. The El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office is currently investigating.
Wallace is not the only South Lake Tahoe official currently under scrutiny. On October 2, Mayor Pro Tem Cody Bass was formally charged with misdemeanor trespassing and harassment related to an incident in Stateline, Nevada. In her resignation letter, Wallace called on Bass to resign as well.
Wallace’s term expires in November 2026. The council has 60 days to appoint a replacement or call for a special election.
Read more about the city’s next steps at the Tahoe Daily Tribune.