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After his home and office were raided Thursday by federal law enforcement, local developer Andrew Card said Saturday that he was temporarily stepping back from the development division of his company while remaining CEO.
It was the first public statement from Card since accusations came to light alleging that he misused millions of dollars intended for a sports facility project in northern Indiana.
According to a Thursday civil asset forfeiture complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana, federal prosecutors allege Card engaged in a wire-fraud scheme involving the development of the $38 million Mishawaka Fieldhouse and used proceeds from it to help purchase a home in Florida.
On Thursday, FBI agents searched his Westfield home and the Indianapolis office of his firm Card & Associates LLC, which specializes in developing large-scale sports complexes.
“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,” Card said in the four-sentence “media statement” emailed to IBJ on Saturday. “My professional reputation is paramount to me. I am hopeful I will be fully vindicated.”
The 62-year-old, whose legal name is James Andrew Card, has not been charged with a crime. An FBI representative would not confirm to IBJ whether the searches were related to the fraud allegations.
Card & Associates’ portfolio includes the Pacers Athletic Center in Westfield, The Farmers Bank Fieldhouse in Lebanon, Precision Garage Door Fieldhouse in Noblesville, Community Sports and Wellness Center in Pendleton and Mishawaka Fieldhouse in Mishawaka.
On Friday, the mayor of the Indiana city of New Haven issued a statement related to the firm’s role in developing a pending project known as New Haven Fieldhouse. The project, expected to feature 140,000 feet of space for basketball, volleyball and other sports, has been slow to get past its August 2025 groundbreaking and initial construction phases.
McMichael said in a public forum in May that he expected the fieldhouse to be open in mid-2027.
The city of New Haven chose Card & Associates as the developer. According to The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne, Card & Associates was supposed to develop, own and operate the center.
In a media statement on Friday, the city said that no funds had been forwarded to the developer other than reimbursement for engineering and design costs.
“Our primary, unwavering priority is the absolute protection of New Haven taxpayer dollars and the fiduciary integrity of our city’s development projects,” the statement said.
In the same statement, Mayor Steve McMichael was quoted as saying, “I’m deeply disappointed to hear the alleged misuse of funds by Andy Card. We performed a rigorous vetting process, and Card was given high recommendations by numerous cities and municipalities across Indiana.
“Should these accusations turn out to be true, the City will move forward on the project with another developer. We want to reassure our residents, business owners, and regional partners that New Haven operates with strict internal fiscal controls. We are fully committed to ensuring that the development of the New Haven District moves forward transparently, legally, and in a manner that serves the best interests of our community.”
In the civil asset forfeiture complaint, the U.S. Attorney’s Office alleges Card misused more than $2.2 million in funds earmarked for the Mishawaka fieldhouse project to purchase the four-bedroom, six-bathroom waterfront home, about 20 miles south of Naples, in August 2023.
While Card and his wife, Martha, are both owners of the home, Martha Card was the only applicant on the mortgage for the property. The payments were documented in mortgage records as gifts from Card to his wife.
The complaint alleges Card moved project funds through two Mishawaka Fieldhouse accounts before transferring some of that money through an account belonging to Card & Associates and into his personal account.
Prosecutors allege $1 million was routed through another account before being wired to the settlement agent, while an additional $1.22 million was sent directly from Card’s personal account to the agent.
“When Card caused those transactions to be conducted, he knew that the transactions involved criminally derived property,” the filing reads. “In fact, each of those two transactions involved proceeds of specified unlawful activity, namely, wire fraud” exceeding $10,000.
The U.S. Attorney’s office is asking the court to order forfeiture of the property.
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