Dewayne Morris Sr., Postal Money Order Theft, California 2024

Table of Contents

Ex-Postal Employee and Son Sentenced for Stealing $5.1 Million in Postal Money Orders

A former U.S. Postal Service employee, Dewayne Morris Sr., and his son, Dewayne Morris Jr., have been sentenced for stealing $5.1 million in postal money order forms and distributing them to co-conspirators.

On January 2024, a federal jury convicted both defendants of conspiracy and bank fraud charges. The scheme involved Morris Sr. stealing the postal money order forms from a post office he supervised, and Morris Jr. distributing those money orders to co-defendants.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, eight other defendants were previously sentenced in the Southern District of California for converting the stolen money orders to cash by depositing them at banks throughout the United States.

The trial evidence included bank records showing Morris Jr. deposited more than $2 million in cash into his bank accounts over the course of the conspiracy. He also paid for his and Morris Sr.’s luxury cars and extravagant vacations.

Morris Jr. was convicted of witness tampering while he was on pretrial release. The trial evidence included threatening text messages Morris Jr. sent to the witness and videos that Morris Jr. recorded attempting to get the witness to deny that Morris Jr. ever provided him postal money orders.

The U.S. Attorney’s office said, ‘These defendants ran a scheme that tricked banks into cashing millions in stolen postal orders to fund their extravagant greed.’ The U.S. Attorney added, ‘Today’s sentence underscores our commitment to safeguarding the integrity of the U.S. Postal Service while also holding accountable those who defraud financial institutions.’

Defendant Information: Dewayne Morris Sr. and Dewayne Morris Jr.

Case Number: 22-CR-1037-WQH

Charges: Conspiracy (Title 18, U.S.C., Section 371), Bank Fraud (Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1344(2)), Witness Tampering (Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1512(b)(1))

Sentence: Dewayne Morris Sr. sentenced to 7 years in prison, Dewayne Morris Jr. sentenced to 12.5 years in prison

City and State: Inglewood, California

Date: (Sentencing date not specified)

Excerpts from the Investigation: The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, and other law enforcement agencies investigated the case.

Prosecutor: Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Olah