Naples farm operation sues former exec, alleges he stole $12.5M

The owner of a Southwest Florida farming operation has filed a lawsuit against a former high-level executive who faces decades in federal prison after pleading guilty to two felony counts earlier this year. 

Naples-based Oakes Farm is suing former vice president Steven A. Veneziano Jr. and two LLCs he operates. Oakes Farm alleges Veneziano stole $12.5 million in funds, equipment and assets.

The lawsuit, filed Oct. 31 in Collier County, says Veneziano “engaged in various schemes” to fund his high-dollar gambling, regular trips to Las Vegas, a multimillion-dollar house and the purchase of a Lamborghini.

In an emailed statement Tuesday afternoon, Veneziano’s attorney, Nicole Hughes Waid with Pierson Ferdinand, writes that “we are aware of the lawsuit and look forward to defending Mr. Veneziano and bringing the truth to light.”

“We are also confident,” she adds, “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.”

Waid also writes that the federal investigation in which he pleaded guilty is ongoing and that he is cooperating with authorities.

Oakes Farms is a local agribusiness with just under 3,000 acres of farmland in Collier, where it grows fruits and vegetables. It also owns the popular Seed-to-Table farm market on Immokalee Road in Naples. 

The entities are owned by local businessman and political provocateur Alfie Oakes.

According to the lawsuit, Veneziano joined Oakes Farms in 2013 and was vice president of South Florida Produce, one of its divisions, until November 2024. 

The lawsuit, possibly in a way to explain his access, says that he “also served informally as the de facto president/Chief Executive Officer of Oakes Farm OP and Oakes Farms Inc.” 

(Oakes Farms’ attorney did not respond to questions about how the de facto roles came about and how they helped him pull off the schemes alleged in the lawsuit. Alfie Oakes also did not respond to the same question and one about his role during this time.)

The company also alleges in the lawsuit that Veneziano started a cryptomining operation on Oakes property; spent $143,600 on a Lincoln Navigator for personal use; and ran up $640,000 in charges on a company-issued credit card, much of that on purchases for himself.

Oakes Farms also alleges in the lawsuit that Veneziano forged the signature of an unnamed company principal to buy $3.9 million worth of John Deere tractors. The tractors were then “sold for unknown amounts which Veneziano retained for his personal benefit.”

The company “never received the proceeds for the sale, and the tractors disappeared,” according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit comes as Veneziano awaits sentencing after pleading guilty in federal court to one charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering in a case involving a $5.18 million fraud against the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Coronavirus Food and Assistance Program. 

Each count carries the potential sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

Oakes Farms is not named in the plea agreement.

In what may just be an interesting coincidence, the plea agreement — which, according to a timestamp — was filed in the federal court system’s electronic records portal Aug. 13, 2025, was signed and witnessed Nov. 5, 2024. That is two days before Alfie Oakes’ home and farm offices were raided by federal authorities. No charges have been filed against Oakes.

Waid, in her statement, says that Veneziano has accepted responsibility for his actions.

“As court filings make clear,” she writes, “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.” 

According to Collier County records, Veneziano is currently living in California and was served with the complaint Nov. 4. He has not filed a response.

As for the federal case, his sentencing hearing was originally scheduled for Nov. 17 but was postponed for 120 days.