Plant City woman pleads guilty to embezzling more than $290,000 from university, charity

TAMPA, FL – Christina Lynn Morris, a 46-year-old Plant City resident, pleaded guilty to a charge of wire fraud, as announced by U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg. Morris now faces up to 20 years in federal prison and has agreed to forfeit $293,202, which represents the proceeds of her crimes.

According to court documents, Morris held dual positions as a financial and business analyst at a multi-campus public research university in the Middle District of Florida and president of a charitable organization in the same region. Between July 2021 and July 2023, she used her position to embezzle more than $290,000. She used her university-issued credit card, as well as cards assigned to other employees, and misappropriated funds from the charity’s business accounts to conduct unauthorized transactions, including repeated bulk purchases of gift cards.

Morris further manipulated the charity’s tax-exempt status to avoid sales tax on these transactions. To hide her activities, she forged documents, gave false testimony, and withheld key information from both the university and the charity. Her actions resulted in financial losses of $261,632.17 for the university and $31,569.87 for the charity.

Morris’ sentencing date has not yet been set, but she faces severe penalties for her actions.