Feds: Former VP of Ohio tour company admits defrauding schools, families

The former vice president of Discovery Tours Inc., a Mayfield business that offered educational trips for grade school and high school students, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court on Wednesday to scamming schools, families and students out of thousands of dollars. Joseph Cipolletti, 47, of Hudson, admitted he took payments for trips and used the money for personal expenses. He pleaded guilty to an 18-count indictment that charged him with wire fraud, money laundering, bank fraud and making a false statement under oath in a bankruptcy proceeding. Cipolletti's company offered trips to Washington, D.C.; Chicago; New York City; Columbus; and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. He personally managed the organization's finances, ledger entries, accounts payable and accounts receivable, and had signature authority on Discovery Tours' business bank accounts. Between June 2014 and May 2018, he stole the money by diverting payments intended for trips to his own personal use, including spending it on home renovations and vehicles. "As a result of Cipolletti's actions and subsequent attempts to cover up the scheme, in May 2018, Discovery Tours abruptly ended operations and filed for bankruptcy," the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio said. "Student trips to Washington, D.C., were canceled for dozens of schools across Ohio and more than 5,000 families lost the money they had previously paid for trip fees." Victims included families in Elyria, Oberlin and Vermilion schools, who lost money they had paid for trips as part of the scheme. In U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Ohio in December 2018, Cipolletti "knowingly made statements under oath in and in relation to his organization's bankruptcy status," the U.S. Attorney's Office said. "Cipolletti claimed that he did not owe his business any money when, in fact, and as he then knew, he had embezzled more than $600,000 from his place of business and made false entries in the general ledger." The total amount of loss will be determined by the court at sentencing. Cipolletti is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 29. The total amount of money lost will be determined by the court at sentencing. This case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio with assistance from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Cuyahoga, Geauga and Summit county prosecutor's offices.