Federal prosecutors say a Kissimmee man who already cashed in on pandemic relief funds is headed back to prison, this time for trying to outsmart a court-ordered forfeiture with a bogus mortgage deal.
Levelle Joseph Harris has been sentenced to 21 months in federal prison after authorities say he used false paperwork to secure mortgage proceeds, bought property with the money, then funneled funds back into his criminal forfeiture payments. The move, prosecutors say, was an attempt to dodge a previous judgment tied to his COVID-relief fraud. Harris has also been ordered to forfeit hundreds of thousands of dollars, part of a broader federal push to claw back pandemic-era fraud proceeds.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Harris was ordered to forfeit $640,911.85 and received a 21-month term in federal custody. As reported by WFTV, Harris pleaded guilty on July 30, 2025, and the sentence was handed down in federal court in Ocala.
Prosecutors Say He Hid The Money With A Bogus Mortgage
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Harris admitted to a separate scheme that ran between February 2022 and January 2023. In that case, officials say he obtained a mortgage through false representations, used the proceeds to buy a residence, and then tried to use those funds to pay his criminal forfeiture. Prosecutors say the mortgage fraud brought in roughly $640,911.85 and that Harris claimed an earlier sale tied to the property was unlawful. The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hannah Nowalk Watson, as detailed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida.
Backstory: The Original COVID-Relief Fraud
Federal court records show Harris previously pleaded guilty to 14 counts of wire fraud after using false information to obtain more than $1.28 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans. He was sentenced in January 2023 to 27 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $1,283,029.81, according to those records. Local coverage of the indictment and follow-on prosecutions was previously reported when he was indicted on multiple counts of wire fraud.
What The Sentence Means
Wire-fraud counts can carry sentences of up to 20 years per count, although judges weigh factors like loss amount and criminal history when deciding punishment. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has described Harris’s 2020 fraud as part of a much larger federal effort to prosecute pandemic-related scams and recover stolen relief funds. In his earlier case, the court imposed both prison time and a sizable forfeiture order as the government worked to recoup money for victims and the federal treasury, per the U.S. Attorney’s Office press release.
The latest sentence closes one chapter in a multi-year fight over pandemic relief money tied to Central Florida businesses and properties. Authorities say they are still urging the public to report suspected disaster-fraud activity while the government continues to chase and forfeit ill-gotten gains.
