Frederick George Barker (December 12, 1901 – January 16, 1935) was an American criminal who, along with Alvin Karpis, co-founded the Barker-Karpis gang, which committed numerous robberies, murders and kidnappings during the 1930s.

Several notable gangsters joined the Barkers in various crimes, including Harvey Bailey, Frank Nash, Fred Goetz, and Dr. Joseph Moran.

[2] The gang relocated to Minnesota, where, in 1932, Barker, his brother Arthur, Karpis, and Lawrence DeVol robbed Third Northwestern National Bank in Minneapolis.

DeVol killed policemen Ira Leon Evans and Leo Gorski during the escape, while Barker murdered Oscar Erickson, a passing motorist.

[3] Barker and Karpis were also suspected of killing Dunlop, an alcoholic whom they considered to be untrustworthy after someone tipped police to the gang's hideout.

The crimes were orchestrated by racketeers Jack Peifer and Harry Sawyer with inside information about police activity being provided by corrupt officer Tom Brown, who ran the "Kidnap Squad".

With the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in pursuit, Barker and Karpis attempted to get plastic surgery to alter their appearance and remove their fingerprints.

A badly decomposed body was discovered a year later washed up from Lake Erie on Crystal Beach, Ontario, Canada.

In 1971, Karpis wrote in his autobiography that the identification was mistaken; he claimed that Moran had been murdered by the Barkers and then buried in a lime pit in Michigan.

[5] The most accepted version of the tale is that Karpis and Fred Barker took Moran on a boat ride on Lake Erie, during which they both murdered him.

While Harry Sawyer traveled to Cuba to launder the money, his wife Gladys and Fred's girlfriend Paula were arrested for drunk and disorderly behavior at a hotel in Cleveland, Ohio.

They rented a lakeside property in Ocklawaha under the pseudonym "Blackburn", claiming to be a mother and sons wanting to vacation in a country retreat.

Unknown to the FBI, Karpis and other gang members had left three days before, leaving only Fred and Ma Barker in the house.