Nine months after federal agents raided Alfie Oakes’ properties in Collier County, WINK Investigates dug through court records, revealing allegations of millions in agriculture-related fraud and guilty pleas from numerous local harvesters.
In November, WINK News was first on-scene when the Secret Service, the IRS, and the Department of Defense's Criminal Investigative Service swarmed the home and warehouses of prominent businessman and founder of Oakes Farms, Alfie Oakes.
Records show the Oakes family is named in business documents related to other harvesting and produce companies across Florida, in addition to Oakes Farms and Seed to Table.
During the raid, WINK Investigates Reporter Olivia Jean asked Oakes why federal agents were on his properties.
"I'm not sure," Oakes said in November. "Everything is all good."
Since then, WINK Investigates has called and texted Oakes numerous times but he did not comment.
We also tried to leave a message for him at his gated home in Naples, but a security guard turned us away.
WINK Investigates has been pressing federal agencies for months on why they stormed a major, local produce grower and distributor's warehouse, known for feeding students and military troops, but they've been tight lipped.
But federal court records obtained by WINK Investigates give us a glimpse of why.
Local business owners plead guilty to falsifying covid relief funding applications
On Wednesday, the former Vice President of Oakes Farms, Steven Veneziano, pled guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.
He is accused of assisting several agriculture-based business owners with falsifying applications to the Department of Agriculture's [USDA] 'Farm Service Agency' through its 'Coronavirus Food Assistance Program.' [CFAP], which awarded money to livestock and agricultural producers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Court records allege Veneziano received over $150,000 for helping unnamed business owners submit fraudulent applications.
This resulted in millions of dollars in approved federal funding and payouts.
WINK Investigates emailed and called Veneziano’s attorney, and were told they have no comment at this time.
Veneziano’s sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 17.
In a separate case, a local farm manager, Christopher Lee, is also accused of two counts of conspiracy to commit fraud.
Court documents allege Veneziano and Lee both falsely represented their companies crop production and sales in Coronavirus Food Assistance Program funding applications, as well as misrepresenting the number of people who owned their companies so they would qualify for more money.
Additionally, Lee is accused of submitting fraudulent applications on behalf of the Alva-based company he owned, C Lee Farms, for funds to the USDA’s Emergency Relief Program [ERP], which awards financial support to farmers that have suffered losses due to disasters.
“C Lee Farms, LLC was an inactive company that was reactivated in August 2020 to commit CFAP [Coronavirus Food Assistance Program] fraud,” court records allege.
Lee is also accused of falsifying records to maximize crop-insurance proceeds.
WINK Investigates called and emailed Lee’s attorney. She says it is her “long practice not to comment on pending matters.”
“Mr. Lee also will not be commenting,” she said in an email.
Lee is scheduled to appear in court on August 26.
In a separate case in January, the owners of two other Immokalee-based agriculture businesses were accused of defrauding the federal government out of millions.
Jacinto Luna, owner of South Flo Harvesting, and Marcelino Deleon, owner of L-D Harvesting,pled guilty to conspiracy and illegal transactions.
Court documents say an unnamed Collier County farm manager and unnamed "Immokalee-based harvesting company owner" helped Deleon and Luna submit fraudulent applications to the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program.
Specifically, Luna and Deleon are accused of falsely representing the volume and types of crops they sold and shipped, as well as the number of people who owned their companies so they "would qualify for more" money, according to court documents.
WINK Investigates called Deleon, who confirmed he worked with Oakes Farms in the past, but declined to comment further or be interviewed. We also called Luna, but he said he couldn't talk about the case.
Both Deleon and Lee’s sentencing hearings are scheduled for Sept. 2.
In February, an unnamed Collier County farm manager was cited again in a plea deal for another local, agricultural business owner, Felipe Munoz.
Munoz, the owner of Hurricane Harvesting of Southwest Florida, pled guilty to federal charges including conspiracy. He agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and admitted to conspiring with the unnamed Collier County manager.
WINK Investigates called Munoz but he could not be reached directly.
Munoz’s sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 29.
Investigation reveals federal fraud charges connected to former Oakes farms manager
In July, a former Oakes Farms employee, Christopher Manzanares, sat in court and pleaded guilty to federal charges related to conspiracy for falsifying audit records.
In Manzanares' plea deal, he agreed to testify against an unnamed business and its owner, who "held various government contracts," according to court documents.
His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 27.
WINK Investigates Reporter Olivia Jean was the only journalist in the courtroom that day and spoke with Manzanares after taking that plea deal.
"Who were you working for when this all happened?," Jean asked.
"What all happened, ma'am?" Manzanares said.
"What you just got charged with?” Jean said. “You just pled guilty.”
"I have no comment at this time," Manzanares said.
A Human Resources representative with Oakes Farms said in an email Manzanares was previously employed "by an entity connected to Oakes Farms, but was laid off in December of last year."
A former high-ranking accountant at Oakes Farms confirmed in a phone call Manzanares worked for the company and managed its facility in Prichard, Alabama.
Federal court records cite an unnamed company's Prichard, Alabama warehouse, identified in court documents only as 'Entity 1,' received money from the Department of Defense through its 'DOD Fresh Program,' "on or about October 25, 2022."
That program awards money to companies that provide fresh fruits and vegetables for school lunches and military troops, in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture [USDA].
A review of contracts issued by the Department of Defense in Alabama shows the only agency that was awarded funds for that program on October 25, 2022 was an Oakes Farms facility.
Court records allege Manzanares was notified that a Prichard facility he managed would be audited by the Department of Defense's 'Defense Logistics Agency.’
According to Manzanares' plea agreement, at the time of the audit, the facility he managed was, "in disrepair, dirty, leaking and incapable of servicing the volume of schools it was allegedly servicing."
A real estate agency in Mobile, Alabama, Betbeze Realty, confirmed in a phone call it previously leased the Prichard facility to Oakes Farms.
Google map records show an Oakes Farms truck parked outside the facility in Prichard.
Fraud allegations point back to Oakes raid
Federal agencies that raided Oakes Farms and Alfie Oakes' home won't answer our questions on Alfie Oakes or his companies, citing an 'ongoing criminal investigation.’
What we do know is court records accuse Manzanares of obstructing a federal audit of the company he worked for by staging facilities intended to feed local students and troops, making false statements, and concealing information during the audit.
We also know court records allege Oakes Farms’ former Vice President, Veneziano, is accused of assisting local business owners with falsifying applications for funds to the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program and that he received over $150,000 as payment for doing so.
All of those charges share similarities to the ones Lee, Luna, Deleon, and Munoz are facing, along with the terms of their plea agreements.
Alfie Oakes and his companies have not been charged.
WINK News has called and texted Oakes and the companies he owns multiple times, but they have not commented.
WINK Investigates is monitoring these cases closely.
We are committed to following these cases and will update you as we learn more.