Following a guilty plea, Judy Jackson was convicted of five counts of operating as a travel agent without registration contrary to the Travel Industry Act.
Jackson was sentenced as follows: Count No. 1: $5,000 fine, plus Victim Surcharge Fee, for a total of $6,250, payable over a period of 24 months; Count No. 2: Probation Order for two years; Count No. 3: Free Standing Restitution Order, payable to the travel agent that employed Jackson as an OSR, in the amount of $5,847.50; Count No. 4 and 5: Suspended Sentence.
As part of the pre-sentence settlement resolution, Jackson reimbursed consumers a total of $2,080. Jackson operated in Toronto and elsewhere in Ontario.
In other news, Carolyn (Michelle) Solomon and 1924067 Ontario Inc. o/a Blue Mountain Travel have been charged with two counts of operating as a travel agent without registration contrary to the Travel Industry Act.
Solomon was a sole director and officer of 1924067 Ontario Inc., which had never been registered as a travel agent under the Act. Solomon and 1924067 Ontario Inc. operated in Toronto and elsewhere in Ontario. Solomon has been previously charged with eight counts of operating as a travel agent without registration. 1924067 Ontario Inc. has been previously charged with two counts of operating as a travel agent without registration. The first court appearance in this matter is scheduled for March 3 in Toronto.
Placido Calore and 407488 Ontario Ltd. o/a Business & Vacation Travel Planners and Blue Mountain Travel (Blue Mountain Travel) have been charged with four counts of failing to deposit customer payments received for travel services into the trust account of the registrant, contrary to the Travel Industry Act.
Calore was a director and shareholder of Blue Mountain Travel, which voluntarily terminated its registration effective July 31, 2015. Blue Mountain Travel operated in Toronto and elsewhere in Ontario.
Calore and Blue Mountain Travel were previously charged with 23 counts of failing to deposit funds into the trust account. The first court appearance in this matter is scheduled for March 3 in Toronto.
TICO also reports that its board of directors approved payment of $16,663.19 to assist 21 consumers who were at risk of not receiving the travel services for which they had paid. The payment was due to the closure of Aerosvit Airlines in Ukraine ($2,308); Blue Mountain Travel in Toronto ($5,805.04); SkyGreece Airlines S.A. ($2,950.15) and Smartchoice Travel in Scarborough ($5,600).