On the heels of the news that the Ohio Attorney General's Office has now received approximately 450 complaints against Discovery Tours, the company responsible for arranging school trips for several districts across Northeast Ohio, Discovery has filed for bankruptcy on Monday evening.
The Chapter 7 bankruptcy paperwork was filed earlier in the day.
Discovery Tours files Chapter 7 bankruptcy by WKYC.com on Scribd
At $500 per student and several thousand children potentially impacted, the money here is large. The debt Discovery tours was dealing with is massive. And the chances those families involved will get their money back? Astronomical.
Pat Perotti is a class action attorney who tried to make sense of the Discovery Tours bankruptcy. Documents filed show the company has $1.3 million dollars in assets, but owes $3.9 million dollars in liabilities.
"It doesn't add up," Perotti told Tye.
Watch Chris Tye's interview with Pat Perotti from WKYC's Facebook Live in the player below:
Discovery Tours came under fire last week after abruptly cancelling Mentor's 8th grade trip to Washington D.C. On Friday, the company announced that it had suspended its operations 'effective immediately,' adding that 'all future trips are canceled.'
Most of the complaints to the Ohio Attorney General's office is coming from parents who were concerned about trips being called off despite paying hundreds of dollars. In addition, prosecutors in several Northeast Ohio counties have opened investigations, asking parents to keep all documents and receipts associated with their trips.
In a statement on Friday, Attorney General Mike DeWine said
"Like many schools and families, we are very concerned about what’s happening with Discovery Tours and we want answers. As we gather information, I want Ohioans to know that this is a priority for my office, and we will do everything we can to assist. We want to hear from Ohioans who have used this company."