A former Ontario travel agent has been sentenced to 100 days in jail, followed by two years of probation and restitution payments of $32,350.
After being charged by Ontario’s travel regulator, the Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO), Jie Yu (Jenny) Ai and World Travel Inc. were convicted of a total 11 charges:
World Travel Inc.:
· Four counts of failing to hold money collected from customers for travel services in a trust account.
· Two counts of furnishing false information or documents.
· Two counts of operating as a travel agent without TICO registration.
Jenny Ai:
· Three counts of being an Officer and Director of a corporation and failing to take reasonable care to prevent the corporation from committing an offence.
World Travel Inc. received a suspended sentence and a two-year probation.
World Travel Inc. was previously a TICO-registered travel agency located in Toronto, Ontario. It had its registration under the Travel Industry Act, 2002 suspended on November 1, 2022, and revoked effective February 24, 2023.
Consistent with the findings from the Licence Appeal Tribunal, the Ontario Court of Justice determined that Ai, the sole Director, Officer and Supervisor/Manager at World Travel Inc. accepted consumer funds to book airline tickets but used these funds for other purposes. The requested airline tickets were not booked, and the consumers were presented with falsified booking documents.
Ai continued to operate World Travel Inc. and sell travel services after its TICO registration was revoked.
TICO says it prosecutes unregistered companies and individuals to maintain a level playing field and the integrity of Ontario’s travel marketplace to ensure consumers are confident purchasing travel from registered professionals.