Couple accused of using theater company's credit card settles with insurer

A Connecticut couple who previously lived in Tampa, Florida, have agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Co. The insurance company accused the couple of misusing a nonprofit theater company's credit card for personal purposes.

The lawsuit says the couple, Lindsay Warfield and Randall Adkison, used the card to pay more than $587,000. Philadelphia Indemnity, which covered the alleged theft losses, also sought interest, punitive damages, attorneys' fees and other costs. The amount of the settlement was not disclosed in court documents filed last week in federal court in Connecticut.

“This case has been reported as closed. Rather than continue to keep the case open, the Clerk of Court is directed to administratively close this docket, without prejudice to reopening on or before October 21, 2024,” said the judge's order, filed after a settlement hearing.

The alleged fraud highlighted the horrifying case of one of the nonprofit theater world's rising stars. For nearly a decade, Warfield was the head of the Florida State Thespian Society, an affiliate of the Educational Theater Association, insured by a policy from Philadelphia Insurance. In 2020, she was named theater educator of the year by the Florida Association for Theater Education. That year, she was a theater teacher at George M. Steinbrenner High School in Tampa, according to published reports.

As head of the state chapter, Warfield had access to the club's bank accounts and checkbook and had the authority to approve credit card payments for the company. The society has troops in schools across the state and hosts an annual festival in Tampa, according to its website.

Warfield's personal expenses allegedly included payments for food, clothing, furniture, airline tickets, beauty salon, car and veterinary services, and payments to vendors such as Airbnb, Universal Studios, Sea World, Disney, Broadway, and various museums and movie theaters.

According to the complaint, the couple moved from Florida to Connecticut shortly before the Educational Theatre Association's board of directors uncovered the alleged embezzlement of funds and suspended Warfield in March 2023.

Philadelphia Insurance's lawsuit alleges that Adkison, who was deputy director of the Florida chapter, deleted all festival registration data before 2023 after the fraud was uncovered by the nonprofit's board of directors.

When questioned about the credit card charges, Warfield admitted to embezzling funds for personal purposes such as AirBnB stays and Wayfair expenses. She said she “kept her business credit cards in the same electronic wallet on her phone and she sometimes inadvertently used the business credit cards for personal things.”

Read more about the recourse action.

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