WINK Investigates Reporter: Olivia Jean
•9/16/2026
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA (WINK) — A Southwest Florida farmer has agreed to plead guilty to making false statements on federal crop-insurance claims, with federal prosecutors alleging he concealed more than $6.7 million in bell pepper sales and caused the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation to overpay more than $1.6 million.
A 24-page federal plea agreement filed Tuesday provides details about the case against Mark Frisbie, including the structure of his farming partnership, the alleged crop-sales concealment and his agreement to cooperate with the federal government in the investigation and prosecution of other people.
Frisbie is pleading guilty to one count of making a false statement in a federal crop-insurance claim.
The farming partnership
According to the factual basis in the plea agreement, Frisbie was a farmer and agricultural-chemical salesman “in or around Immokalee, Florida."
The federal plea agreement names Frisbie's farm as Frisbie Farms, LLC.
The most recent Florida Division of Corporations filing for Frisbie Farms, LLC, filed Jan. 15, 2026, lists the company's principal place of business and mailing address as in Punta Gorda. The filing lists Mark Frisbie as president and Lou Anne Frisbie as vice president.
The government says Frisbie farmed through a growing partnership with an individual identified only as “Coconspirator 1.”
Under that partnership, prosecutors say Coconspirator 1 “paid Frisbie’s farming expenses,” while Frisbie “managed a farm for the partnership.”
The agreement says Coconspirator 1 and Coconspirator 1's businesses “marketed all crops that were harvested on the partnership’s farm.”
The two split profits and losses from the farm, with 60% going to Coconspirator 1 and 40% to Frisbie.
WINK Investigates has learned from sources that Coconspirator 1 is Alfie Oakes, the owner of Oakes Farms.
WINK Investigates reached out to Steven Veneziano, former vice president of Oakes Farms, who wrote, "I can confirm Mark Frisbie and Frisbie Farms had been in a partnership with Oakes Farms beginning around the year 2016. Oakes Farms and Alfie Oakes did fund the company/operation."
The agreement also says Frisbie frequently dealt with a second individual identified as “Coconspirator 2,” whom Frisbie knew worked for and reported directly to Coconspirator 1.
Veneziano told WINK Investigates he is listed as Coconspirator 2 in the documents.
A November 2019 Produce News article independently the relationship. In the article, then-Oakes Farms President Steve Veneziano said Oakes Farms partnered with other farmers and specifically identified “Frisbie Farms in Immokalee” as one of the company's partner growers. Veneziano identified Mark Frisbie as specializing in eggplant and jalapeño peppers and said he grew roughly 25% of Oakes Farms' eggplant volume.
The federal plea agreement itself does not identify Coconspirator 1 by name, a trend WINK Investigates has observed with numerous past plea agreements involving previous Oakes Farms employees.
The crop-insurance claims
The federal Crop Insurance Program allowed farmers to receive insurance proceeds when qualifying crop losses occurred. The plea agreement says farmers were required to submit truthful and complete information about crop production and sales and certify that information was accurate.
For the partnership's bell peppers, the government says Frisbie insured the crop under a federal Bell Pepper Dollar Plan.
On Feb. 5, 2020, Frisbie signed a crop-insurance claim for the partnership's bell peppers.
According to the plea agreement, the claim relied on invoices Frisbie provided to his insurance adjuster. Those invoices, which prosecutors say Frisbie received from Coconspirator 2, reported that the partnership had grown 16,417 cartons of bell peppers and sold them for $107,280.50. The plea agreement says Frisbie knew those numbers were false.
The plea agreement says a Nov. 30, 2019, Grower Summary showed the partnership had $379,661.67 in bell pepper sales between Oct. 15 and Nov. 30.
Then, on Jan. 6, 2020, Frisbie received another Grower Summary showing $1,051,834.97 in bell pepper sales between Oct. 14, 2019, and Jan. 6, 2020.
The government says both records contradicted the information Frisbie later certified on his insurance claim.
More than $6.7 million in bell pepper sales
The plea agreement says the alleged conduct extended beyond the single 2020 claim.
Court records say Frisbie knowingly signed and certified additional false federal crop-insurance claims involving the partnership's bell peppers for multiple crop years, including claims covering 2020 through 2024.
Across those claims, Frisbie reported total bell pepper sales of $759,022.55.
Other records showed the farms Frisbie oversaw had more than $6.7 million in bell pepper sales, according to prosecutors.
The government says Frisbie therefore “fraudulently concealed more than 88% of the partnership's bell pepper sales.”
Based on the fraudulent bell pepper claims, the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation paid $1,795,523 in insurance indemnities, according to the plea agreement.
Had Frisbie accurately reported the bell pepper sales, the government says the corporation would have paid only $134,585.
Prosecutors say Frisbie's misstatements caused the corporation to overpay $1,660,938 in bell pepper crop-insurance indemnities.
Another false claim involved tomatoes
The plea agreement also details a separate crop-insurance claim involving the partnership's round tomatoes.
Frisbie reported $34,602.75 in round tomato sales for the 2021 fall crop year but records showed actual sales of more than $177,390.07, according to the government.
The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation paid $87,470 in indemnities based on that claim. Prosecutors say it would not have paid any indemnity had the sales been accurately reported.
Proceeds were shared with Coconspirator 1
The plea agreement addresses where the money went.
Prosecutors write: “The proceeds that Frisbie received based on the submission of the false crop-insurance claims were shared with Coconspirator 1 and/or used to pay the partnership’s farm expenses.”
The agreement says those were expenses, “which Coconspirator 1 was obligated to pay.”
Prosecutors also say alleged fraud was not limited to crop insurance.
The plea agreement says that during the Frisbie-Coconspirator 1 farming partnership, Frisbie was also involved in fraudulent applications for federal agricultural assistance through Frisbie Farms, LLC.
Prosecutors say Frisbie knowingly submitted false applications for:
The government says proceeds from those applications were “shared with Coconspirator 1 and/or used to pay the partnership’s farm expenses.”
The agreement says Frisbie acknowledges he was not entitled to any ERP Phase 2 proceeds and was entitled to significantly reduced CFAP-1 and CFAP-2 payments.
Frisbie agrees to cooperate and pay restitution
As part of the plea agreement, Frisbie agrees to pay restitution to two federal agencies.
He agreed to pay:
That's a combined $3,255,400.26 in restitution.
Frisbie also agrees to “cooperate fully with the United States in the investigation and prosecution of other persons.”
The agreement says his cooperation includes testifying before a federal court or grand jury, providing a “full and complete disclosure of all relevant information,” producing documents and being available for government interviews.
If prosecutors determine his cooperation qualifies as substantial assistance, the government may seek a reduction in his sentence under federal sentencing provisions.
The agreement also says the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida will not charge Frisbie with other federal offenses known to the office at the time of the agreement that are related to his association with Coconspirators 1 and 2.
What Frisbie's attorney says
WINK Investigates requested an interview with Frisbie and his attorney, Simon Gaugush.
Gaugush declined the interview but provided a statement: "For over 15 years, Mark Frisbie ran a legitimate farming operation in southwest Florida, growing food to feed American families. This charge does not change that fact. He is a family man and a respected member of his community. Mark has accepted responsibility for the conduct related to this charge, is cooperating fully with the government, and looks forward to closing this chapter of his life.”
The offense carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, a maximum $1 million fine — or twice the gross gain or loss caused by the offense, whichever is greater — and up to five years of supervised release.
Frisbie’s case comes amid a broader federal investigation involving allegations of millions in agriculture-related fraud and guilty pleas from former Oakes Farms employees and other local harvesters.
Frisbie's attorney did not respond to WINK Investigates' questions about whether Coconspirator 1 is Alfie Oakes, the relationship between Frisbie Farms and Oakes Farms, or whether Oakes has any response to the allegations.
Alfie Oakes has not been charged in this case. Oakes and his attorney did not respond to WINK Investigates' requests for comment.
Frisbie has agreed to plead guilty to the federal crop-insurance charge inside federal court on September 29. A judge will determine his sentence.
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