Federal Jury Convicts Cyberstalker Who Used Fake LinkedIn Profile in Harassment Campaign

NEW BERN, N.C. – A federal jury convicted a Texas man on Friday on charges of cyberstalking.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Christopher Kevin Morris, 45, attempted to ruin the life of a victim in the Eastern District of North Carolina, as well as harass two other victims elsewhere.  Morris attempted to defame his North Carolina victim by creating a fake LinkedIn profile describing the victim as a child molester and rapist, sending emails to co-workers pretending to be a respected colleague alleging that the victim was a convicted child molester, and sending emails to co-workers pretending to be the victim that used racist language.  In addition, Morris sent harassing and confrontational emails to each of the victims using a variety of email accounts implying that he was watching them or their family, calling them inappropriate things, and using racist and offensive language.  He sent a message to one of the victims saying, “dead man walking.”  Finally, Morris attempted to ruin the life of the North Carolina victim by posting source code on the public internet on multiple occasions, code that the victim worked extensively on for six years and was worth millions of dollars.  Morris engaged in this criminal conduct after making inappropriate comments to the North Carolina victim in a forum public to other employees and, after refusing to apologize for his conduct, was removed from his job.    

Morris faces a maximum sentence of 60 months in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release when sentenced in May 2023.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan accepted the verdict.  The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad DeVoe.

A copy of this press release is located on our website. Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No.5:21-CR-370-FL.

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