Oakes Farms entities sue ex-VP, alleging fraud, embezzlement

As a federal fraud investigation into Oakes Farms continues, Alfie Oakes is suing his former vice president, alleging he stole $12.5 million in funds, assets and equipment from Oakes’ companies and funneled them through shell corporations to support his gambling habit and lavish lifestyle. 

Former Vice President Steven A. Veneziano Jr., 36, who has since moved to California, already has pleaded guilty to two unrelated federal conspiracy charges involving wire fraud and money laundering. He participated in an elaborate scheme with at least four others to defraud the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program out of more than $5.18 million by falsifying crop yields. 

He’s among seven defendants, including other Oakes employees, who have pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. Oakes has not been charged, though court records reference his and his companies’ involvement. Veneziano has repaid more than half of the $1.157 million he was ordered to forfeit. Collier County Property Appraiser records show he sold his Poplar Street home in Naples for $1.25 million, agreeing to forfeit it, with any additional proceeds going toward restitution. At his March sentencing, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison and at least $750,000 in fines, which could be reduced because of his cooperation. 

Oakes Farms Inc., Oakes Farm OP (Operating Partners) LLC and South Florida LLC — entities owned by Francis A. “Alfie” Oakes — filed the lawsuit Oct. 31 in Collier Circuit Court against Veneziano and two of his dissolved companies, Veneziano Farms LLC and Veneziano Property Management LLC. The complaint accuses him of fraud, conversion, money laundering, breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment from 2022 through November 2024. It asks a judge to order the return of all illegally gained assets or traceable proceeds to Oakes’ entities. 

“Veneziano exploited his role in the company and used his access and authority to steal millions of dollars in funds, equipment and assets from Oakes Farms,” the lawsuit states, filed by Naples attorney Joseph Davidow. “In doing so, Veneziano engaged in various schemes to defraud Oakes Farms of millions of dollars and to fund his lavish lifestyle, which included high-dollar gambling, regular trips to Las Vegas, a multimillion-dollar house and the purchase of a Lamborghini, among other luxuries.” 

The lawsuit claims Veneziano “siphoned large sums of cash … while concealing evidence of the missing funds” by manipulating accounting software, diverting deliveries to other retailers and “failing to use cash withdrawals for their stated purpose.” It alleges he asked vendors to pay him in cash for produce, then edited invoices to list a “sham customer account” or a company affiliated with Oakes Farms. 

Defense attorney Nicole Hughes Waid, a former federal prosecutor who represents Veneziano in the criminal case, also is defending him in the lawsuit. She said Veneziano accepted responsibility for his federal crimes and “looks forward to bringing the truth to light.” 

“As court filings make clear, Mr. Veneziano did not act alone, and he is and has been cooperating fully with the United States government to ensure that all individuals who defraud the federal government are held accountable,” Hughes said. “We are confident that the full truth will be revealed. We are also confident that the facts will absolve Mr. Veneziano of the allegations in this frivolous lawsuit. We will not engage in bullying tactics or theatrics; we will rely on the facts and evidence.” 

Oakes’ attorney said he anticipates a lot of information will come to light through the court processes, but noted the lawsuit lays out the fraud committed against the company in significant detail.

“The fraud and breach of trust came as a shock to the company when it was discovered,” Davidow said, adding, “The company looks forward to proceeding with the case, recovering its damages and putting this episode behind it as it continues to focus on its goal of serving the Southwest Florida community.”

According to the lawsuit, Veneziano worked for Oakes for more than a decade, holding formal and informal roles across Oakes Farms companies, including authorized member, manager and vice president of South Florida Produce, a wholesale produce distributor in Immokalee. He also served “informally as the de facto president and chief executive” of Oakes Farm OP, an Immokalee farming and packing company, and Oakes Farms Inc., which operates the Seed to Table store and restaurant in North Naples. The companies employ about 1,400 people. 

The suit alleges Veneziano created multiple shell corporations to “facilitate and perpetrate the theft and scheme to defraud,” including Veneziano Farms and Veneziano Property Management, which were used to divert Oakes Farms’ money, assets and equipment to his other entities. 

“Veneziano carried out sophisticated schemes by interfering with Oakes Farms’ accounting and delivery records in order to conceal his appropriation of millions of dollars of cash from Oakes Farms accounts within what appeared to be seemingly legitimate transactions,” the lawsuit states. 

It accuses him of stealing company funds and assets, including buying a $143,600 Lincoln Navigator for personal use with South Florida Produce funds, which he still possesses. The lawsuit also claims he paid more than $500,000 in personal expenses with a company credit card and created a cryptocurrency mining operation on Oakes Farms property in Immokalee “for his personal benefit” using company funds. 

Veneziano allegedly “clandestinely added” his wife and a friend to South Florida Produce’s payroll, paying them more than $250,000 over two years, and “improperly added himself” to the payrolls of Oakes Farms companies, resulting in more than $1.15 million in pay. The suit claims he embezzled at least $6.2 million from Oakes Farms between April 2023 and December 2024. 

“Veneziano transferred a significant portion of the funds he stole into cryptocurrency,” the lawsuit states. 

When he left, South Florida Produce records showed a $729,000 receivables balance for a buyer “a record Veneziano had not yet altered likely due to his impending departure.” The buyer, however, already paid in cash. “Veneziano was able to manipulate the (accounting) system by exploiting system gaps and bypassing normal receiving and invoicing procedures. Veneziano freely altered sales orders without any financial officer review.” 

The system showed he received products paid for by Oakes Farms companies, sold them and marked them as paid without documenting a price or payment method. “Millions of dollars’ worth of produce” were shipped with no valid record of invoicing or reconciliation, and the “manipulated” files were “disabled in a way to prevent any accurate payment tracking,” according to the filing. 

Another alleged scheme occurred between June 3 and Nov. 1, 2024, when Veneziano directed a South Florida Produce accounting employee to withdraw cash weekly to pay a tomato farmer who supposedly had “banking issues.” About $960,000 was withdrawn and pocketed, according to the suit. 

To cover the payment, the lawsuit states, Veneziano “arranged for multiple small-check payments” by Oakes Farms OP, creating double payments for the tomatoes — once with the misappropriated cash and again with checks. 

From 2022 until his departure, the lawsuit alleges, Veneziano transferred millions from company accounts to his personal and company accounts, “portraying these as purported investments or reimbursement payments.” 

It also claims he “extensively utilized” corporate credit cards intended for business expenses to fund “his extravagant personal spending,” including travel, expensive meals and subscriptions to pornography on the OnlyFans website. 

In another alleged scheme, the lawsuit says Veneziano bought $3.9 million in new tractors from John Deere, “forging the signature of a company principal,” then sold them, kept the proceeds and made the tractors “disappear.” The suit says there was no legitimate business reason for the purchases, as the equipment was in good working order. 

The lawsuit accuses Veneziano of breaching his fiduciary duties by acting disloyally; failing to put company interests above his own; mismanaging corporate assets and affairs; concealing transactions that affected Oakes’ companies; engaging in self-dealing; and usurping Oakes’ corporate opportunities for personal gain.