Oregon advertising executive, 36, is accused of bilking the company out of nearly $1M but has case DROPPED against him as Portland fails to find public defender amid city shortage

An Oregon advertising executive has had their embezzlement charges dropped after the state was unable to find a public defender to take the case due to a chronic shortage. 

Isaac Lee Morris, 36, is accused of swindling a Portland advertising agency out of $815,000 and 35 other criminal charges, the Oregonian reported. 

However, a Multnomah County Circuit judge dismissed all charges against Morris on Thursday after three failed attempts to find a court-appointed attorney to represent him.

Oregon is currently short of 500 public defenders, leaving around 2,500 people without representation, according to a recent report. 

A civil lawsuit filed against Morris by Thesis Agency accused him of stealing $815,000 from the company between 2020 and 2021.  

Isaac Lee Morris, 36, is accused of swindling a Portland advertising agency out of $815,000 and 35 other criminal charges

The advertising executive's $900,000 home in Portland, Oregon 

A civil lawsuit filed against Morris by Thesis Agency accused him of stealing from the company between 2020 and 2021

The suit alleged the chief product officer spent the money on luxury items such as cameras, clothing, musical instruments, electronics and exercise machines.

'Morris used techniques of deception like returning some legitimately purchased items for credit and then using the credit for Morris' personal, unauthorized purchases,' it claimed.  

The company, which has 340 employees counts Adobe and Taco Bell among it's clients, dropped the civil lawsuit in December 2022 without a settlement, but left the opportunity refile it at a a later date. 

The criminal indictment was filed against Morris in November 2023 with a charge sheet including aggravated identity theft, first-degree theft, computer crime and fraudulent use of a credit card. 

Prosecutors objected to the case being dismissed and plan to refile the indictment 'in the near future' Liz Merah, a spokesperson for the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office, told The Oregonian. 

'Having to bring cases back to grand jury is manifestly unfair to victims, both because justice is delayed and because they have to go through the grand jury process again,' Merah said in a statement. 

A Multnomah County Circuit judge dismissed all charges against Morris on Thursday after three failed attempts to find a court-appointed attorney to represent him

Adding: 'We certainly hope that the court will appoint counsel if/when we get to arraignment.' 

Judges prioritize finding defender to violent crime cases and for defendants who are in custody, a spokesperson for Metropolitan Public Defender said. 

The long-running public defender crisis led a federal judge to order criminal defendants to be released from jail if they have been held for more than seven days without access to an attorney. 

'Oregon is not a gulag found in a Tom Clancy novel,' U.S. District Judge Michael McShane said last year. 

Adding: 'Oregon is an outlier here,' he said. 'It's a complete tragedy and nobody seems to have an answer.

'We have suspended the Constitution when it comes to this group.' 

McShane's order is currently being challenged by the state.