Tuesday, September 22nd, 2026 — A Southwest Florida farmer has pleaded guilty to making a false statement in a federal crop insurance claim as part of a broader fraud investigation involving agricultural production records, insurance payments and federal assistance programs.
Mark Frisbie, 60, of Punta Gorda, admitted to signing a fraudulent insurance claim for a fall 2020 bell pepper crop grown through a farming partnership near Immokalee, Florida. According to federal court documents, the claim substantially understated the crop's production and sales, resulting in $253,391 in insurance payments and subsidized producer premiums to which Frisbie was not entitled.
The admitted fraud involved a discrepancy between the sales figures certified on the insurance claim and the partnership's actual revenue. Frisbie acknowledged receiving a report from another participant in the operation showing more than $1.05 million in bell pepper sales, nearly 10 times the amount he reported.
Federal investigators also identified additional false insurance claims involving bell pepper crops from fall 2020 through spring 2024. During that period, Frisbie certified approximately $759,022 in sales, although records showed actual sales exceeded $6.7 million. The false reporting concealed more than 88% of the crops' sales.
According to court documents, the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation paid $1,795,523 on those claims when the correct amount would have been $134,585. The resulting overpayment exceeded $1.6 million.
Frisbie also admitted to certifying a false claim for the partnership's fall 2021 round tomato crop. That claim concealed more than 80% of actual sales and resulted in an additional $87,470 in insurance payments that should not have been issued.
Although prosecutors charged Frisbie with only one count of making a false statement in a federal crop insurance claim, his plea agreement addresses additional fraudulent conduct. He agreed to pay $1,748,408 in restitution to the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation.
The agreement also requires Frisbie to pay slightly more than $1.5 million in restitution to the federal Farm Service Agency for fraudulent applications involving the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program and Emergency Relief Program. Those programs provided financial assistance to agricultural producers affected by market disruptions, price declines and natural disasters.
Frisbie admitted to submitting fraudulent applications through the farming partnership and his own company, Frisbie Farms, and sharing improperly obtained assistance payments with another participant in the operation.
The case illustrates a specific challenge in agricultural claims investigations: verifying reported production and sales against independent business records. The discrepancies identified in Frisbie's claims involved millions of dollars in agricultural revenue that was omitted from certified insurance documents. Sales reports and other production records provided evidence of the differences between reported and actual crop revenue.
Under the plea agreement, Frisbie must cooperate with federal investigators, assist in identifying assets subject to forfeiture and provide truthful testimony in proceedings involving other participants. Prosecutors expect to recommend a sentencing reduction for his acceptance of responsibility, with a possible additional reduction if his cooperation qualifies as substantial assistance.
The agreement states that Frisbie did not know or reasonably foresee the full extent of the crops and acreage farmed by two other participants or the amount of production they concealed.
Frisbie faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, a fine of up to $1 million or twice the gross gain or loss caused by the offense, and up to five years of supervised release.
His plea agreement became public Sept. 15, and an initial court appearance and plea hearing are scheduled for Sept. 29 in U.S. District Court in Fort Myers. Sentencing has not been scheduled.
