Indiana developer faces federal lawsuit after allegedly misusing $2.2 million in taxpayer money tied to Mishawaka Fieldhouse project
MISHAWAKA, Ind. -- An Indiana developer is facing a federal lawsuit and the loss of his Florida home after allegedly misusing local taxpayer money.
Federal prosecutors say James Andrew Card of Card & Associates, an Indianapolis-based facility developer, used over $2 million in tax dollars tied to the Mishawaka Fieldhouse project to help pay for a multi-million-dollar home in Florida.
Now, the federal government and the City of Mishawaka are working to get that money back.
The Mishawaka Fieldhouse project was completed in October of 2024, and it cost the city of Mishawaka about $38 million.
It was paid for through a mix of taxpayer funds in the form of TIF programs and a state READI grant.
It was developed in partnership with Card & Associates, which develops fieldhouses and sports facilities across the state and country.
In the lawsuit, U.S. Attorney's provided a flow chart which shows how they believe Card moved the money in 2023.
It begins with two disbursement claims worth more than $5 million in total from the City of Mishawaka, then it leads to where prosecutors say card paid more than $2.2 million to purchase a $6.6 million waterfront home on Marco Island, Florida.
They say Card sent two gift letters to his wife totaling that $2.2 million dollars to use to close on the home, and that Card did it that way to intentionally conceal the source of the funds.
U.S. Attorneys are now attempting to seize that Florida home.
Over the weekend, Card released a statement in response to the lawsuit which reads:
“Nothing is more important than the health and happiness of my family. I am, however, temporarily relinquishing control of the development division at Card and Associates and will manage operations (as CEO) for current facilities only. My professional reputation is paramount to me. I am hopeful I will be fully vindicated.”
The City of Mishawaka also released a statement which says they had no knowledge of the fraudulent conduct until this past Friday; it reads:
'The City of Mishawaka has recently become aware of allegations involving fraudulent activity that resulted in the unauthorized diversion of funds from the Mishawaka Fieldhouse project..At no time did the City have knowledge of this fraudulent conduct. The City followed its established policies and procedures and exercised appropriate due diligence based on the information available at the time. Because this is an active investigation, the City is limited in what it can publicly disclose at this time. The city is committed to protecting public resources and maintaining the trust of its residents. We will pursue every legal remedy available to recover any funds that were unlawfully used and will work with law enforcement and all appropriate parties as needed moving forward. As this matter remains under investigation, the city will have no further comment at this time.'
Since it's a civil case, Card does not face any criminal charges at this time.
The website and public social media pages for Card & Associates have since been deactivated.