TORONTO — Tri World Travel hit the consumer headlines when police arrested travel agent Frank Cardona earlier this year and charged him with fraud. The travel agency in Toronto’s Bathurst and Eglinton area went belly up right at March Break, leaving more than 80 would-be travellers in the lurch to the tune of more than $100,000.

At the time TICO put out a Consumer Alert on Cardona after receiving a number of complaints from consumers who received unauthorized charges on their credit cards after booking travel services with him.

Now TICO has charged 1054304 Ontario Limited o/a Tri World Travel (‘Tri World’), a registered travel agent operating in Toronto and elsewhere in Ontario and Gary Cristello, Officer/Director of Tri World, under the Travel Industry Act, 2002 (the Act) and Ontario Regulation 26/05 (the Regulation) with the following offences:

1. Tri World – Four counts of furnishing false information relating to the provision of travel services, contrary to s. 27 of the Act. Gary Cristello – Four counts of failing to take reasonable care to prevent Tri World from committing an offence of furnishing false information relating to the provision of travel services, contrary to s. 27 of the Act.

2. Tri World – Seven counts of failing to hold in trust and deposit customer funds in trust account, contrary to s. 27(3) of the Regulation. Gary Cristello – Seven counts of failing to take reasonable care to prevent Tri World from committing an offence of failing to hold in trust and deposit customer funds in trust account, contrary to s. 27(3) of the Regulation.

3. Tri World – Seven counts of failing to hold customer funds in trust account, contrary to s. 27(6) of the Regulation. Gary Cristello – Seven counts of failing to take reasonable care to prevent Tri World from committing an offence of failing to hold customer funds in trust account, contrary to section 27(6) of the Regulation.

The first court appearance is scheduled for July 14 at 9 a.m. at the Ontario Court of Justice, Provincial Offences Court, at 70 Centre Avenue, Toronto.

Cardona was also charged, with (one) count of operating as a travel agent without registration contrary to section 4(1)(a) of the Travel Industry Act, 2002 (the Act). Operating in Toronto and elsewhere in Ontario, during the relevant period of time Cardona was not registered as a travel agent and was not employed under a contract for services with another registrant.

Cardona’s first court appearance in the above matter is scheduled for July 28 at 9 a.m., also at the Ontario Court of Justice, Provincial Offences Court.

In other TICO news, David and Jennifer Hemmings plead guilty and were each convicted of one count of operating as a travel agent without registration contrary to section 4(1)(a) of the Travel Industry Act, 2002 (the Act). The two operated in Whitby and elsewhere in Ontario and have never been registered as travel agents under the Act.

The Defendants were sentenced as follows:

1. Jennifer Hemmings: $3,000 fine plus Victim Impact Surcharge – for a total of $3,750. The fine is to be paid within two years.

2. David Hemmings: $8,000 fine plus Victim Impact Surcharge – for a total of $10,000. The fine is to be paid within two years.

This is the second offence and conviction under the Act for David Hemmings. He pled guilty to one count of operating as a travel agent without registration in October 2013 and was sentenced to a fine of $3,000.