Former Post Office Manager and Son Sentenced for Stealing $5.1 Million
Dewayne Morris Sr. and Dewayne Morris Jr. have been convicted in a plot to cash stolen USPS money orders.
A federal jury convicted father and son in January 2024 of bank fraud and conspiracy, according to the DOJ press release. Morris Jr. was also convicted of witness tampering. Morris Sr. and Jr. were charged alongside Cynthia Priscilla Romero and Christian Josef Jefferson, both of whom have already been sentenced, according to the indictment.
Morris Sr. was sentenced to seven years despite his attorney’s plea for 18 months of house arrest. Morris Jr. received more time for witness tampering.
10,000 Blank Money Orders
In July and August 2016, Morris Sr. supervised three post office locations in Marina Del Rey, Playa Del Rey and Venice, Calif., according to the indictment. On July 11, 2016, Morris Sr. ordered 10,000 blank money order forms, receiving them on Aug.2, 2016, at his Venice location.
In April 2019, the post office locations Morris Sr. managed were audited, and the auditors found that a little over half of the money order forms ordered were neither present at the facilities nor documented as being sold at any of the three locations that Morris Sr. supervised, according to the indictment. Each of the 5,100 money orders had a maximum value of $1,000, so authorities estimated the total loss of the missing forms to be $5,100,000.
Stolen Money Orders Looked Like the Real Things
The money orders were usually issued for the maximum value and were made to look like the post office legitimately issued them, according to the indictment. Co-conspirators then used fake identification to open bank accounts at several financial institutions to deposit money orders and withdraw cash. The co-conspirators even traveled to multiple states to convert their money orders to cash.
Between June 2018 and November 2019, Morris Jr. distributed the money orders to his co-conspirators, according to the indictment. The issue dates and amounts on the money orders were altered to make it look like they had been appropriately paid for, although they hadn’t.
Co-Conspirators Opened Accounts with Fraudulent Driver’s Licenses
Morris Jr. provided his co-conspirators with fraudulent driver’s licenses they used to open bank accounts and quickly withdraw the funds before the banks realized that the money orders had been altered, according to the indictment. In August 2018, Morris Jr. used eight money orders to pay his rent.
In September 2018, Romero opened three bank accounts in Oceanside, Vista, and Encinitas, Calif., under the name “Jordyn L. Berry” and deposited the altered money orders before withdrawing the cash from the accounts, according to the indictment.
In October 2018, Morris Jr. deposited money orders into accounts created by a co-conspirator under the names “Sabrina Bathea” and “Monique McDaniels,” according to the indictment.
In December of the same year, Morris Jr., Jefferson, and another co-conspirator went to Arizona and used the names “Jennifer Jacobs,” “Sabrina Bethea,” and “Deene Denali” to open accounts at a financial institution, deposit the money orders and withdraw the cash, according to the indictment. They did the same thing in Texas and Washington State.
An Unconvincing Explanation
Morris Sr. spoke to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Inspectors on Feb. 12, 2019, and told them that he had received 10,000 postal money order forms but had returned some through the mail, according to the indictment. He made this same claim on Oct. 28, 2021, when he spoke to inspectors again.
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