2 Immokalee agriculture business owners plead guilty to defrauding government

The owners of two Immokalee agriculture businesses pleaded guilty in federal court to defrauding the government out of millions of dollars.

There are also reportedly two other unnamed co-conspirators who appear to be prominent business people in Southwest Florida.

WINK News went to federal court Wednesday morning when Jacinto Luna and Marcelino Deleon Junior pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering.

Luna owns a company called South Flo Harvesting. Deleon owns L-D Harvesting.

The two created fake invoices for services and used federal assistance money to buy vehicles.

Part of their plea deal is to cooperate with the government in an ongoing fraud investigation centered around the Coronavirus Food and Assistance Program.

That’s where the two unnamed co-conspirators come in. All we know about them is that one owns a harvesting company in Immokalee, and the other is in an upper management role for a farming conglomerate in Collier County.

Prosecutors won’t comment. However, the first two men, in addition to cooperating, have to pay back a million dollars before their sentencing next month, which they say they can do.