AKRON, Ohio – Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh announced today that the FBI and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio are now involved in reviewing information into the recent cancelling of school field trips by Discovery Tours.
Discovery Tours, based in Mayfield Village, Ohio, coordinated educational tours to several destinations for schools throughout Ohio, including popular tourist destinations like Washington D.C. and Chicago. In early May of 2018, the company cancelled several tours for local schools, including trips for students in the Hudson and Twinsburg school districts. Discovery Tours ceased operations on May 7, 2018 and filed for federal bankruptcy protection.
“Thousands of local students missed out on this annual tradition. Their families paid hundreds of dollars and got nothing in return. I directed my chief investigator to find out where the money went,” said Prosecutor Walsh. “After discovering issues with multiple school districts throughout Ohio, as well as out-of-state schools, I determined we needed additional resources to conduct a thorough investigation. We have always had a good working relationship with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office and felt they would be best equipped to continue the hard work of my investigative staff.”
Investigators with the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office spent over a month looking into the company’s records and uncovered dozens of cancelled trips for school districts in 20 Ohio counties. After speaking with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, it was determined that out-of-state schools also had trips through Discovery Tours which were cancelled.
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