Ex-Oakes Farms manager pleads guilty in federal fraud case

A former Oakes Farms employee who managed thousands of acres of farmland is the sixth defendant in a wide-ranging federal fraud investigation to plead guilty and agree to cooperate and testify against coconspirators. 

Christopher Lee, 49, pleaded guilty Aug. 26 to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud after a hearing in U.S. District Court in Fort Myers before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nicholas P. Mizell. Mizell set sentencing for March 23, 2026, when U.S. District Court Judge Sheri Polster Chappell will sentence Lee after hearing arguments from the defense and prosecution.  

Other coconspirators who already pleaded guilty are Oakes Farms’ former vice president, general manager, warehouse manager and two Immokalee harvesters. Four other unnamed coconspirators are listed: a physical therapist in Estero; someone who owned a “purported farm” in Alva; a North Fort Myers harvesting company owner; and the owner of a Bonita Springs company that was used to buy and sell produce. 

Oakes has not been charged. Neither he nor his attorney, Steve Bracci, responded to requests for comment. The prosecutions follow Oakes’ North Naples home and Immokalee packing plant being raided in November, when federal agents hauled out documents and other evidence in boxes.  

In his plea agreement, Lee admitted engaging in fraud against the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, crop insurers and the Emergency Relief Program, which helps farmers after disasters. He admitted fraudulently obtaining more than $1.15 million in taxpayer-funded government dollars.  

He declined comment as he left the courthouse with defense attorney Laurin Mills. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine or twice his gross gain, whichever is greater. He agreed to testify against coconspirators or in grand jury proceedings in return for leniency at sentencing. Mills has said his client already paid more than $700,000 to the government, even before the case was assigned a number. 

During the hearing, Mills told the judge that Lee’s plea agreement and factual basis, which details what Lee did with coconspirators, “were heavily negotiated” by himself and U.S. Assistant Attorneys Simon R. Eth and Chelsey Hanson. The plea bars him from appealing his sentence. 

Lee said little, except, “Yes I have, your honor,” or “Yes I do, your honor,” and said he understood his plea could limit his employment opportunities and ability to vote. Hanson agreed not to detain him pending sentencing, telling the judge, “We have no concerns about risk of flight.”  

Lee’s plea agreement admits he worked as a farm manager for “entities controlled by Coconspirator 1” from fall 2018 to December 2024, overseeing “thousands of acres of farmland,” including in Collier, Charlotte and Hendry counties. Court records for Lee and five others describe Coconspirator 1 as someone who owns not only farmland, but a group of associated business entities in Southwest Florida involved in “farming, packing, shipping, retail market, food service and seafood distribution industries.” Oakes owns farms, packing and distribution centers, retailers and restaurants including Seed to Table and Food & Thought, Captain Jerry’s Seafood and other businesses. 

Lee admitted that Coconspirator 1 used “straw farmers and nominee entities” to obtain more fraudulent government proceeds, and that coconspirators submitted “fraudulent applications” to obtain federal crop-insurance policies and didn’t follow “recognized good farming practices” for insured crops they “purposefully deficiently” farmed so they could file fraudulent crop-insurance claims, which is called “insurance farming.” 

He admitted they used fake photos of damaged crops from a “bullsh-- bank of photos” and provided fabricated spraying logs, and that the “Farm Organization” had an “insurance agent” who conspired with him and others in various actions, including backdating documents and delaying filing reports so insurance adjusters couldn’t examine crops. 

Coconspirators have admitted their proceeds “mostly benefited Coconspirator 1,” who used them to pay his farming expenses, debt and other businesses or to purchase assets, including precious metals for himself and other coconspirators, according to the plea agreement.