A Marblehead-based nonprofit is now trying to right the ship after claiming it was the victim of a fraud scheme that cost the company hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Stone & Compass founder Rob Goodwin, whose company provides international trips to students in Marblehead and across the country, said that he was unable to access roughly $900,000 in his account last month when trying to allocate money for multiple trips after switching over to a new investment company.
When Goodwin tried contacting the company, he claimed that there were no active phone lines and his account had been frozen, forcing him to cancel between 20 to 30 summer trips just days before the company was expected to run them, except for eight trips out of Marblehead.
Despite the fraud claim, Goodwin told The Weekly News that the company has been able to provide “70 to 80% (of refunds) to some schools,” and is in the process of getting refunds back to the remaining schools.
“We’re just trying to pound the pavement as best we can to get them (refunds) back,” Goodwin said.
Fallout from the cancellations included two schools in Florida filing complaints to the attorney general against Stone & Compass. Immediately following the alleged fraud, Goodwin filed a fraud complaint with the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James. As part of the legal process, law enforcement also looked into the company itself. Goodwin, in an interview, said that the company has “been cleared of all wrongdoing, 100%.”
He assured those who booked trips that they will be getting their refunds, but emphasized that it is a slow process due to needing to get money back from overseas vendors, including hotels and travel companies.
The two schools filing complaints against Goodwin also did not pay through a third party, such as a credit card, which, according to Goodwin, means that the company has to physically go to the vendor’s location to attempt to get the refunds.
“It’s kind of hard to get a guy in Crete, who has a small hotel, to give your money back,” Goodwin said. “It’s just time, it takes time. I would say overall, we’ve got to be probably pushing 70% at this point.”
Goodwin said that one of the schools, Seabreeze High School in Daytona, Fla., has received close to 70% of its refunds, including all of its flight credits.
Except for the eight Marblehead trips, Goodwin said that he is unsure of what the future holds for his company, which has operated for 15 years.