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Highlands Today

NO. 1: DAN ANDREWS ARRESTED

Charged With Theft, Fraud

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By Gary Pinnell | Highlands Today

Published: December 31, 2008

SEBRING - It was a story which stunned the people who knew him best.

Dan Andrews was fired as executive director for mismanaging the finances of the Greater Sebring Chamber of Commerce.

But why, people asked? How was it even possible?

Andrews, 33, was a popular young man with loyal friends and a reputable family. He had previously worked at Jeff Carlson's accounting firm.

It took weeks, but chamber board members began speaking out, though anonymously, about what became the top news story in Highlands County during 2008.

When he was dismissed in April, Andrews wrote a check for more than $9,000 to repay the chamber. But it turned out the story went much deeper.

Although he was paid a $50,000 a year salary, it appeared Andrews had supported his lifestyle on chamber credit cards. An arrest warrant issued after a seven-month investigation by the state attorney's office accused Andrews of buying golf clubs for himself, a Tiffany necklace for his wife, landscaping his home, and buying restaurant meals for people who may not have been chamber clients. The chamber bookkeeper, Toni Kopp, asked him for the proper receipts, but in February 2006, Andrews fired her, said state attorney's investigator Jeanette Dugas.

The NCT Group took over. They also asked him for proof, but he put them off as well, accountants at the firm told criminal investigators.

Board members and the new accountants discovered about $86,000 in dedicated scholarship funds had been moved to an operational fund and spent. Even so, at least six balance sheets were presented by the executive director to his board, showing false balances for the scholarship account, said Dugas.

Another $29,000 in grant money wasn't paid to contractor Mark Stewart for remodeling the chamber's downtown welcome center. More money remains missing, unaccounted for or misspent. The chamber reportedly owes about $500,000.

Andrews, of 2430 Lakeview Drive, was arrested Nov. 24 when law enforcement officers served a warrant to an address on Rainbow Lane. He was charged with larceny, fraud, and embezzlement, booked into jail, and released after two hours on $3,000 bond.

Andrews has never defended his actions to reporters, but in court on Dec. 22, his attorney entered a not guilty plea. A pre-trial conference is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Jan. 22.

Even though he hasn't been convicted of a crime, Andrews was suspended by Gov. Charlie Crist from the Sebring City Council. The executive order is effective until another one is issued.

Highlands Today Senior Reporter Gary Pinnell can be reached at 863-386-5828 and gpinnell@highlandstoday.com.

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