Salisbury Woman Sentenced for Theft from Museum

Image courtesy Worcester County State’s Attorney

A Salisbury woman has been sentenced after pleading guilty to a charge of theft scheme $25,000 – $100,000.  Retired Wicomico County Circuit Court Judge Donald Davis has sentenced 53 year old Cynthia Byrd to 10 years with all but 18 months suspended. Upon release Byrd will be on 5 years of supervised probation and has been ordered to pay over $97,000 in restitution to the Town of Snow Hill.

The charges stem from an investigation after members of the Julia A. Purnell Museum Board of Directors became suspicious of purchases made by the Executive Director, Dr. Cynthia Byrd. Detectives with the Worcester County Criminal Bureau of Investigation learned that from 2017 to 2024 Byrd opened an unauthorized credit card in the museum’s name and charged 1781 fraudulent purchases to that card – totaling $97,316.87 in unauthorized spending. Detectives spent months compiling and reviewing detailed financial records to uncover the full scope of the theft scheme and critical assistance was provided by members of the Museum’s Board of Directors.  

Worcester County State’s Attorney Kris Heiser commended the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office and Detective Cpl. Gardner, who led the investigation, and thanked Assistant State’s Attorney Zachary Reid who prosecuted the case.