Richmond Married Couple Sentenced for Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft

May 28, 2010 - RICHMOND, VA—Kenneth O. Morris, 44, and Bernice R. Morris, 43, of Richmond, Virginia were sentenced today for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. Kenneth O. Morris was sentenced to 48 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release. Bernice R. Morris was sentenced to 36 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Andrew E. Harris, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge James R. Spencer. Kenneth and Bernice Morris, husband and wife, plead guilty on February 26, 2010.

In a statement of facts filed with her plea agreement, Bernice Morris admitted to conspiring with Kenneth Morris in 2009 to engage in a scheme to defraud various financial institutions and to commit identity theft. As part of this scheme, Kenneth Morris stole wallets and bank and credit cards from office buildings across Virginia. With respect to some or all of the thefts, Bernice Morris called the theft victims and claimed to be a representative from the victim’s financial institution who was checking on questionable transactions on the victim’s account. She obtained many victims’ personal identification numbers by this form of deceit. Bernice Morris would relay the victims’ personal identification numbers to Kenneth Morris, who would, in turn, use the victims’ bank cards, including their account and personal identification numbers, to make cash withdrawals from their bank accounts and to obtain other things of value. Kenneth and Bernice Morris shared the proceeds from the fraudulent scheme.

This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service as a member of the Metro-Richmond Identity Theft Task Force, with assistance from the Chesterfield County Police Department, Henrico County Police Department, Richmond City Police Department, Newport News City Police Department, Fredericksburg Police Department, and Fairfax County Police Department. Other member agencies of the Task Force include: the United States Postal Inspection Service; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Bureau of Diplomatic Security, U.S. Department of State; Richmond Police Department; and Henrico County Division of Police. Prosecutions for the Task Force are handled by the United States Attorney’s Office and the Office of the Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Assistant United States Attorneys Benjamin L. Hatch and Michael R. Gill are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States. For more information on the Task Force, including assistance for victims of identity theft, visit: www.richmondIDtheft.com.