Panama City Beach CVB Executive Arrested for Grand Theft
By Jonathan Trager
Aaron Lee, Vice President of Administration at Visit Panama City Beach, was arrested on January 3 and stands accused of stealing more than $100,000 from the northwest Florida organization.
On January 5, the Bay County Sheriff’s office held a press conference about the situation. At that time, the 48-year-old Lee had been charged with grand theft over $100,000, which carries up to a 30-year prison sentence, and five counts of fraudulent use of a credit card, each of which carries up to a five-year prison sentence.
“On January 2, the Convention and Visitors Bureau notified the Bay County Sheriff’s Office reporting suspected fraud involving Lee. An investigation was immediately initiated,” said Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford. “During the investigation, deputies reviewed (credit card statements) that identified nearly $1,000,000 in charges made on the card, while only approximately $58,000 of those charges were documented as legitimate expenses.”
Lee was hired in April 2024 and had been issued an American Express card from the organization. Since then, he had used the card for more than 1,000 transactions, police say.
Ford said those transactions included luxury cruise expenses, personal airline travel, and personal rent payments as well as expensive consumer goods such as Louis Vuitton clothing and Rolex and Cartier watches. Other charges included the purchase of a home water filtration system and services from a divorce attorney.
“There’s some indication that he may have even purchased a horse with these funds, so we’ll be looking at how do we seize the horse and recover those funds as well,” Ford said.
Lee, who investigators found on January 3 with a packed bag and plans to leave town, originally claimed the American Express card was linked to his Apple Pay and the charges were accidental. He later said he’d intended to repay the funds but failed to do so.
Dan Rowe, President & CEO Visit Panama City Beach, said Lee’s actions as alleged “do not reflect the values and standards of the Bay County Tourist Development Council nor the Panama City Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau.”
Rowe said the financial discrepancies were discovered when a staff member was reviewing the American Express statements and noticed improper charges that weren’t included within their expense management system. Lee was quickly placed on unpaid administrative leave and authorities were notified.
“We have launched an internal investigation, ordered an independent forensic audit of this situation, (and) initiated a 360-degree review of all of our policies and procedures,” said Rowe. “As these reviews continue, we’re fully cooperating with the appropriate authorities and remain committed to transparency.”
The CVB will eventually release a full report on the situation as well as recommended policy and procedure changes, Rowe added.