VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A fugitive who is accused of defrauding students in Volusia County has been arrested in California and is pending extradition to Florida.
56-year-old Robert Goodwin, who already faces charges of two counts of grand theft and two counts of organized scheme to defraud, was arrested Wednesday night. Detectives with the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office arrived in California on Friday to interview him.
Goodwin, the owner of Stone and Compass Travel, a Massachusetts travel agency, scammed more than 100 Seabreeze High School students in 2023, according to investigators.
It’s alleged that Goodwin collected at least $3,550 in travel fees from each student who had signed up for a nine-day class trip to Italy and Greece through Goodwin’s agency.
[WATCH: Victims speak out after fraud case leaves Volusia students, chaperones out of $400K]
Authorities say that one month before the trip, the agency emailed students that it was going out of business and there would be no refunds. In total, the students and chaperones lost $400,000, deputies said.
The Volusia Sheriff’s Office says students and parents who lost money will be invited to meet Goodwin at the airport with Sheriff Mike Chitwood when he arrives.