MISSISSAUGA — A new bulletin from TICO confirms that the former director of a now-defunct Ontario travel agency has been sentenced to jail following a series of fraudulent transactions.

Mohamed Hachemi Bensaci, former Director of Holy Destinations Travel Inc., has been sentenced in court to 18 months in jail and ordered to pay $436,500 in restitution. Holy Destinations Travel Inc. was also fined $35,000 after pleading guilty to a combined total of 59 offenses under the Travel Industry Act, 2002.

The agency, which specialized in Islamic pilgrimages such as Hajj, was accused of collecting consumer payments without delivering the travel services consumers purchased.

In 2022, the Saudi Arabian government mandated that Hajj travel packages for North Americans be sold exclusively through a government portal, preventing travel agencies from offering them. Despite this, Holy Destinations continued selling Hajj packages in 2023 to unsuspecting consumers.

In total, 41 consumers were affected, with consumer losses amounting to $436,500. A total of $142,000 was reimbursed to affected consumers through the Ontario Travel Industry Compensation Fund.

According to TICO, this case highlights the importance of TICO registration in maintaining trust and integrity within Ontario’s travel industry.

“When businesses operate outside the law, it undermines consumer trust and creates an unfair environment for travel professionals and businesses that follow the law and uphold consumer protection,” said TICO in an official news bulletin. “TICO works to support a fair and ethical marketplace by helping bring businesses into compliance and, when necessary, taking swift action to uphold consumer protection standards.”

TICO relies on both its compliance team and information from the public and the industry to monitor the marketplace and identify compliance concerns and unregistered sellers. Compliance issues and concerns over travel services being offered without proper registration can be shared with TICO at tico@tico.ca.