Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Co
Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Co. is taking legal action against a couple from Connecticut for allegedly committing fraud against one of its insured clients, a Florida-based theater nonprofit.
Lindsay Warfield and Randall Adkison
The couple, identified as Lindsay Warfield and Randall Adkison, are accused.
Accused Claim Of Fraud
Lindsay Warfield and Randall Adkison are accused of using the nonprofit’s checking and credit card accounts for their personal expenses, which totaled to over $500,000 over a period of ten years.
According to the insurer’s complaint filed in federal court in Connecticut, Lindsay Warfield spent $587,669.58 of the Educational Theatre Association’s money for her own personal benefit and the benefit of her husband, Randall Adkison.
From October 10, 2013 through March 18, 2023, Warfield was chapter director of Florida State Thespian Society, an affiliate of Educational Theatre Association, which was insured under a policy from Philadelphia Insurance. As state chapter director, Warfield had access to the association’s bank accounts and checkbook and had the authority to approve credit card payments for the business. The Society has troupes in schools around the state and an annual festival in Tampa, its website shows.
Backstory
Warfield, who was the chapter director of the Educational Theatre Association in Florida from 2013 to 2023, had access to the association’s financial resources and was able to make unauthorized payments for items such as groceries, airline tickets, and even veterinarian services. According to the complaint filed in a federal court in Connecticut, Adkison, who worked as an assistant director for the association’s Florida chapter, also played a role in the alleged fraud by deleting important festival registration data. The fraud was discovered by the nonprofit’s board in 2023, after Warfield had moved to Connecticut with Adkison. When questioned about the unauthorized charges, Warfield admitted to using the organization’s funds for personal expenses, claiming that she sometimes mistook her business credit cards for personal ones due to having them in the same electronic wallet on her phone. Despite promising to reimburse the stolen funds, Warfield has not done so, leading Philadelphia Insurance to cover the association’s claim and seek repayment, along with punitive damages and other costs incurred due to the couple’s actions. The Educational Theatre Association, which has chapters all around the country, including Florida, is a professional association for theater educators.
