Former U.S. Postal Service employee Dewayne Morris Sr. and his son, Dewayne Morris Jr., have been sentenced to seven years and 12.5 years in prison, respectively, for their involvement in a scheme that resulted in the theft of $5.1 million in postal money orders. The sentencing took place after both were convicted by a federal jury on charges of conspiracy and bank fraud.
The jury found that Morris Sr., who supervised a post office, stole the postal money order forms while Morris Jr. distributed them to co-conspirators. Eight other defendants have already been sentenced for their roles in converting the stolen money orders into cash by depositing them at banks across the United States.
Testimonies during the trial revealed that Morris Jr. provided co-conspirators with money orders and counterfeit driver's licenses, which facilitated opening bank accounts to deposit the funds quickly withdrawn as cash. Evidence presented included bank records showing over $2 million deposited into Morris Jr.'s accounts during the conspiracy period.
Morris Jr.'s lavish spending was highlighted during the trial, including luxury cars like a Mercedes-Benz AMG GT and multiple vacations to destinations such as Costa Rica, Grand Cayman, and Los Cabos.
Additionally, Morris Jr. faced conviction for witness tampering due to threatening messages sent while he was on pretrial release.
U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath commented on the case: "These defendants ran a scheme that tricked banks into cashing millions in stolen postal orders to fund their extravagant greed." Matt Shields from the United States Postal Inspection Service stated: "This father and son engaged in financial fraud for their personal gain." Christopher Paige from the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General noted: "Postal money order fraud schemes negatively impact the American economy."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Olah is prosecuting this case.