A Massachusetts travel agency owner, accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from Flagler College and Seabreeze High School students looking to study abroad, must pay back the money after pleading no contest to theft charges.
During a recent court hearing, Robert Goodwin entered no contest pleas to two counts of grand theft over $100,000. Following his plea, the presiding judge sentenced Goodwin to time served, 180 days in jail, and 25 years of probation, according to a media release from the State Attorney’s Office for the 7th Judicial Circuit.
Goodwin was the owner of Stone and Compass Travel, a Massachusetts-based travel agency.
Prosecutors stated that in 2023, a group of students and chaperones from Flagler College (74 King Street in St. Augustine) and Seabreeze High School (2700 N Oleander Avenue in Daytona Beach) booked a nine-day class trip to Italy and Greece through the agency. The trip was scheduled to begin in June 2024, and each traveler paid a minimum of $3,550 in travel fees upfront.
However, just one month before the scheduled departure, Goodwin’s travel agency reportedly emailed the students to announce it was going out of business and lacked the money to provide refunds. Shortly after the email was sent, the agency’s website went offline, and all previous contact phone numbers and email addresses were deactivated.
An ensuing investigation by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office revealed that numerous other organizations, including Flagler College, were suing the agency over similar allegations.
As a special condition of his sentence, Goodwin was ordered to pay a total of $637,260 in restitution. This represents the full amount of funds he reportedly misappropriated from Flagler College and the Seabreeze High School victims who cooperated with the investigation.
Earlier this week, the State Attorney’s Office stated that Goodwin paid a total of $194,000 in restitution upfront, with those funds being split evenly ($97,000) between the Flagler College and Seabreeze High School victims.
This case was investigated by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.
After Goodwin was sentenced, State Attorney R.J. Larizza released a statement emphasizing the importance of thoroughly vetting travel companies before handing over any funds.
“Folks must use due diligence when booking travel with brokers to ensure that their plans come to fruition,” said Larizza. “In this case, the victims are fortunate that a sizable amount of restitution was paid up front.”