VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A massive fraud case involving over 100 Volusia County students and chaperones has now sparked an arrest warrant, according to the sheriff’s office.
In a release, deputies said the warrant was issued for Robert Goodwin, 56, the owner of a Massachusetts travel agency named “Stone and Compass Travel.”
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According to investigators, the incident happened in 2023, when 104 students and chaperones from Seabreeze High School signed up with the agency for a nine-day class trip to Italy and Greece.
Each traveler paid at least $3,550 in travel fees, which included airfare, lodging, and excursions, the release states.
But just one month before the trip, the agency emailed students that it was going out of business and that there was “no money to offer refunds,” detectives said.
“Shortly after, the agency’s website went down, and all previous contact phone numbers and email addresses were inactive,” the release reads.
In all, the Seabreeze High School students and chaperones were defrauded out of $400,000, deputies said.
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However, the sheriff’s office revealed that the agency was being sued by several other organizations over similar allegations, including Flagler College in St. Augustine.
Now, Goodwin faces two counts of grand theft and two counts of organized scheme to defraud.
The sheriff’s office said Goodwin’s bond is set at $4 million.