SECRETARY, Md. - The former treasurer of the Secretary Volunteer Fire Company has been sentenced after she was charged with nearly 70 counts in an alleged years-long theft scheme from the fire company.
As WBOC previously reported, police began investigating Julie Ann Schuyler, of Hurlock, in December of 2024 after the Secretary Volunteer Fire Company alerted investigators to potentially unauthorized withdrawal from the company’s bank account.
The ensuing investigation allegedly revealed Schuyler used fire company funds for numerous personal purchases over the span of years, hiding the spending under various accounting lines in the fire company’s financial records. According to court records, Maryland State Police estimated that between 2022 and 2024, the Secretary Volunteer Fire Company lost $75,232.82.
A criminal summons for Schuyler was issued on Feb. 12, 2026 on 69 charges including embezzlement and theft.
On June 29, Schuyler appeared in Dorchester District Court for trial. According to court records, Schuyler pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor embezzlement and one count of conspiracy theft scheme, also a misdemeanor. The remaining charges, including various felonies, were placed on a stet docket, meaning those charges have been indefinitely postponed.
According to court records, Schuyler was sentenced to 10 years for the theft scheme charge and five consecutive years for the embezzlement charge. All 15 years were suspended, however, records show. In lieu of active jail time, Schuyler was placed on three years supervised probation and ordered to pay $32,000 in restitution.
