A Clinton man has pleaded guilty to money order fraud and faces up to five years in prison, according to a statement from the United States Department of Justice (DOJ).
Delos Thurston, 27, of Clinton, pleaded guilty on April 6.
According to the DOJ, Thurston admitted that between April 2025 and January 2026, while he was employed as the postmaster of Morrisville, he fraudulently issued 179 money orders for his own benefit without paying for them, and in so doing stole $118,088.19 from the United States.
“This defendant stole from the honest, hard-working American taxpayer,” First Assistant United States Attorney John Sarcone III said in a statement. “That he did so by abusing the authority entrusted to him as a public servant is abhorrent. We thank the Office of Inspector General for its continued efforts to bring fraudsters to justice.”
Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 6, before Senior U.S. District Judge Glenn Suddaby.
Thurston faces a maximum term of five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to three years. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is convicted of violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.
The USPS-OIG is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. McCrobie is prosecuting the case.
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Morrisville postmaster steals $118K, pleads guilty
Reporting by Casey Pritchard, Utica Observer Dispatch / Observer-Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
