Rex Alan Harris, Mail Fraud, LA 2024

A Louisiana con man who preyed on real estate agents with false promises of TV advertising has been hit with 38 months behind bars. Rex Alan Harris, 41, of Covington, Louisiana, was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Pittsburgh by U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon after admitting to a years-long mail fraud scheme that ripped off hundreds of realtors across the country.

Harris, the mastermind behind the shell company “Agents by City,” lured realtors into signing contracts for television ad campaigns on major networks, claiming the ads would generate home sale leads based on local zip codes. The promises were hollow. No legitimate advertising ever ran, and the referrals never materialized. Instead, Harris and his associates funneled victim payments into personal spending sprees.

The scam stretched from 2008 onward, ensnaring agents from coast to coast—including multiple victims in the Pittsburgh area. Realtors, many of whom operate as independent contractors and rely on lead generation, paid thousands for services they never received. The total damage: $1,628,319.04 in losses, a figure the court has ordered Harris to repay in full through restitution.

Harris pleaded guilty to mail fraud, a federal charge that carries stiff penalties when used to perpetrate widespread financial deception. The use of U.S. mail to send contracts, invoices, and confirmations gave federal authorities jurisdiction and helped build a case that spanned multiple states. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory C. Melucci led the prosecution, methodically unraveling the fraud.

The investigation was a joint effort by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Agents traced financial flows, interviewed victims, and documented the complete absence of any advertising output from Harris’s operation. What they found was a boiler-room operation built on deception, not media placement.

Now facing 38 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release, Rex Alan Harris’s downfall marks a rare win for defrauded small-business professionals. U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady called the sentence a measure of justice for hardworking real estate agents who were exploited by a predator in a suit. The case serves as a grim reminder: in the cutthroat world of real estate, the biggest threats don’t always come from the market—they come from the scammers selling dreams.”