An arrest warrant was issued for a travel agency owner for defrauding Central Florida high school students out of $400,000.
Volusia Sheriff’s Office detectives have issued an arrest warrant for 56-year-old Robert Goodwin, the owner of a Massachusetts travel agency, after 104 Seabreeze High School students and chaperones were defrauded out of $400,000 for an international trip that was cancelled without refunds.
Detectives with the Financial Crimes Unit began their investigation into Stone and Compass Travel in May of 2024 after the case was referred to Volusia County law enforcement by the State Attorney’s Office.
In 2023, the group of students and chaperones signed up with the agency for a 9-day class trip to Italy and Greece which was to begin in June of 2024. Each traveler paid a minimum of $3,550 in travel fees that included airfare, lodging and excursions.
One month before the trip, the agency emailed the students it was going out of business and there was no money to offer refunds. Shortly after, the agency’s website went down, and all previous contact phone numbers and email addressed were inactive.
The investigation revealed the agency was being sued by numerous other organizations for similar allegations to include Flagler College in St. Augustine.
According to local law enforcement, Goodwin faces two counts of grand theft (over $100K) and two counts of organized scheme to defraud (over $50K). His bond is set at $4 million.
