San Diego FBI Paralegal Specialist Pleads Guilty to Theft of Nearly $160,000 in Government Funds

A paralegal specialist for the San Diego Division of the FBI pleaded guilty today to embezzling nearly $160,000 in government funds, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge James K. Cheng of the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General’s Los Angeles Field Division.

Lynn M. Morris, 51, of San Diego, California, pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement of government property.  Morris will be sentenced on June 4 before U.S. District Court Judge Larry Alan Burns of the Southern District of California.

According to admissions made in connection with her guilty plea, between July 2014 and November 2016, Morris embezzled approximately $159,821.90 that belonged to the United States and converted the funds for her own personal use.  The funds were held in an account owned by the FBI San Diego Division’s Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU).  From 2014 to 2016, Morris was a paralegal specialist and the designated coordinator for the AFU.  Morris admitted that to convert government funds to her own use, she used her knowledge and position within the FBI to withdraw cash from the AFU’s account and deposited portions of the stolen proceeds into her personal checking account.

The Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General investigated the case.  Trial Attorneys Marco A. Palmieri and Jessica C. Harvey of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section are prosecuting the case.