VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – The man accused of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from more than 100 high school students for a European trip that never happened was met face-to-face Thursday by Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood and by the students who say they were scammed.
Authorities say 56-year-old Robert Goodwin was taken into custody at Daytona Beach International Airport after arriving from California, where he had previously been arrested. As Goodwin descended an escalator in handcuffs, a group of current and former Seabreeze High School students shouted at him.
“You’re a scumbag,” several students yelled.
Sheriff Chitwood confronted Goodwin in front of the group, telling him it was important for the people affected by the alleged fraud to see him in person.
“I think it’s important that the people you screwed over look you in the eyes,” Chitwood said. “It’s easy to do what you did, but it’s hard to realize all the lives you affected.”
Goodwin could be heard apologizing as he was taken into custody.
“I’m really sorry,” he said. “Innocent until proven guilty, and hopefully this can all get fixed.”
Authorities allege Goodwin stole about $400,000 from 104 Seabreeze High School students and chaperones who believed they were paying his travel agency for a school-sponsored trip to Italy and Greece. Investigators say the group was informed just weeks before the scheduled departure that the trip was canceled and that no refunds would be issued because the company was going out of business.
Melissa Heller, a Seabreeze parent who says her family lost about $10,000, stood just feet away as Goodwin was escorted to a patrol vehicle.
[BELOW: 100 Volusia County students, chaperones lose $400K in travel scheme]
“I’m very upset, but I feel really good that we finally got justice,” Heller said. “I didn’t get our money back, but seeing him put in that car shows that it does pay off and they do get the bad guy.”
Seabreeze High School senior Charlie Buckmaster said the canceled trip was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“We were going to go to Europe and have a great time, and we never got to go,” Buckmaster said. “It would have been a life-changing trip.”
Buckmaster said watching Goodwin arrive at the airport was emotional.
“It was the best moment of my life,” he said. “His reaction when he came down the escalator, he got what he deserved.”
The Volusia Sheriff’s Office said Goodwin is being held on a $4 million bond.