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Former Discovery Tours vice president pleads guilty to fraud and money laundering

47-year-old Joseph Cipolletti pleaded guilty to an 18-count indictment. He was accused of embezzling over $600,000 from Discovery Tours.

CLEVELAND — Former Discovery Tours vice president Joseph Cipolletti pleaded guilty to an 18-count federal indictment on Wednesday afternoon in Cleveland. 

The indictment charges included the following: 

  • Wire fraud 
  • Money laundering 
  • Bank fraud 
  • False statement under oath in a bankruptcy proceeding 

The 47-year-old Hudson native was previously employed by Discovery Tours. The Mayfield-based company offered educational trips for students to places such as Washington D.C., Chicago, New York City, and more. 

In his role, he was in charge of the company's finances, general ledger entries, accounts payable and accounts receivable. 

Previous court documents showed that from June 2014 until May 2018, Cipolletti created an embezzlement scheme that caused Discovery Tours to go bankrupt. 

Cipolletti had devised a scheme to divert payments intended for Discovery Tours trips for his personal use, defrauding parents and other student trip purchasers.

He was previously accused of embezzling over $600,000 from Discovery Tours.

When Discovery Tours filed for bankruptcy in May 2018, dozens of school trips were canceled and over 5,0000 families lost the money they paid for the trips. 

On Dec. 10, 2018, Cipolletti falsely stated under oath that he did not owe his business any money. 

The total amount of loss will be announced by the court at Cipolletti's sentencing, which will be held on Nov. 29, 2022. 

The FBI investigated this case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian M. McDonough is prosecuting the case.

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