The man Fort Myers hired to advise the city what to do with the midtown City of Palms Park property is the same Indiana-based developer under investigation by the FBI for money laundering.
James Andrew “Andy” Card, president of Indianapolis-based Card & Associates, is accused in federal filings of defrauding the city of Mishawaka, Indiana, where his company had been hired to build an indoor athletic facility much like the one the consultants he hired recommended to the Fort Myers City Council back in May.
For now, Fort Myers officials and Card’s business associates say the legal proceedings have no impact on the City of Palms project.
FBI – Card diverted city construction funds to buy Marco house
The filings come from a forfeiture effort by the FBI to seize a $6.6 million Marco Island home they claim was purchased with money Card requested for construction expenses in Mishawaka, then diverted for his own use.
So far Fort Myers has paid Card $66,237.50. The scoping agreement calls for the city to pay Card a total of $356,180 should the company remain engaged through the permitting, planning and zoning process for the new development.
According Brian Points of KRM Services, who Card hired, the city could see an impact of almost $63 million annually from an indoor sports fieldhouse like the one under construction in Mishawaka.
The city is not committed to involve Card in the actual construction.
Card’s troubles began July 16 when FBI agents raided his home in Westfield, Indiana, and his business in Indianapolis.
According to forfeiture documents, Card made fraudulent draws from the Mishawaka project between October 2022 and October 2024. He then gifted money to his wife, Martha, to cover the $1.5 million down payment on the four-bedroom, six-bathroom home and the $1.2 million it took to close the deal in July of 2023.
Prosecutors claim $2.2 million of the funding for the home came from the $38 million Mishawaka Fieldhouse project.
Card not charged, says he hopes for vindicaation
Within a few days of the forfeiture filing Card issued a statement through a PR firm saying he was relinquishing control of the development arm of his company but will continue to manage current facilities. Card said he hopes to be fully vindicated.
The city has not hired anyone beyond the feasibility and scoping study.
He has not been charged with a crime.
Card has built indoor sports complexes across Indiana in places such as Westfield, Noblesville and Pendleton. The company plans, builds and operates the facilities.
In a presentation to Fort Myers City Council in May, Points said that 10% of the 3.3 million tourists coming to Fort Myers annually already are attending sporting events while they’re here. He said the lack of similar facilities in the area might draw people from Sarasota and DeSoto counties and Naples and Collier County.
The facility would create 435 jobs, Points said. It would create over $21 million in direct revenue, with the rest coming from businesses such as hotels and restaurants entertaining and hosting families and athletes attending events.
Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson said he has seen a rush to convict Card based solely on the forfeiture filing.
“It’s funny people want to convict him already,” Anderson said.
City manager says no intention, but city contracts have ‘out’ clauses
City Manager Marty Lawing said the city has not committed to Card for anything beyond the scoping and feasibility work, and the city has “out clauses” in all of its contracts.
“We have no intention of terminating,” he said. “That could change, but as of now we’re still proceeding.”
Cole Peacock is a local consultant for Card. He said the company remains engaged in the contracted process and is on schedule.
“We’ve been in communication,” he said.
Peacock said the potential for the Fort Myers project is worth being excited about.
“With where it is and what it could be it is exciting,” he said. “The city project is moving the way it’s supposed to be.”
The new developments come even as City of Palms Park is being torn down. The city floated over $50 million in bonds to build the stadium and lure the Boston Red Sox to town in 1992. When the team threatened to leave Lee County spent upwards of $80 million to build them a new complex that became JetBlue Park.
The stadium sat mostly empty after the team left in 2013, as repeated efforts to land a new team or a new sport failed. The city finally paid off the bond debt in 2022.
Honc Destruction, a company owned by Lee County Commissioner David Mulicka, won the bid and is being paid just under $1 million for the demolition.
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Charlie Whitehead covers Lee County and Fort Myers. Reach him at cwhitehead@gannett.com
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This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: FBI investigating developer advising Fort Myers about sports complex
Reporting by Charlie Whitehead, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Charlie Whitehead, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News | USA TODAY Network
