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CBC
19-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
'Rising problem' of ghost consultancies hits man who lost $12K trying to get Canadian visa for wife
Social Sharing This story is part of Welcome to Canada, a CBC News series about immigration as told through the eyes of the people who have experienced it. Krishan Jogia turned to an immigration consultancy before landing in Toronto in 2023, only to realize later — after spending thousands of dollars — that he had been dealing with a "ghost" consultancy apparently operating illegally in Canada. Jogia, a dual Canadian-Australian citizen, sought the services of Canada Global Migration Consultants (GMC) for a Canadian visitor visa for his wife, Luana Cabral de Carvalho. They eventually received it, but things didn't go as smoothly when they tried again for her spousal visa. "Canada GMC visually, like if you've seen their YouTube, Instagram and website, comes off as very polished," Jogia said. "When you call them, you get a proper help desk with hold music and everything." However, in early 2024, Jogia said, their consultant "just disappeared." For months, he said, the consultancy kept ignoring them and shuffled them around to different colleagues. The two were able to get hold of that consultant, who is a registered immigration consultant, directly. He told them, in an email seen by CBC News, that they left Canada GMC due to "their unethical work practices." "We started really aggressively trying to pursue a refund, and that's when they just stopped replying and just ignored us," Jogia said. The company's name does not appear on the list of immigration consultancies permitted to operate in Canada, contrary to the law. A spokesperson for the body that regulates the profession, the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC), said immigration consultants must only provide services "under a business name that is registered with the college and appears on the public register." Ultimately, Jogia said, the couple paid roughly $12,000 to Canada GMC and consulted a lawyer to take action against the company, which "ignored the demand letter." The company did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The couple filed a complaint with the CICC about their experience with Canada GMC. Even approaching the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and Better Business Bureau hasn't remedied anything. "I mean, it's disappointing. It doesn't even sum it up right. It's surprising how unregulated the industry is and just the lack of desire to do anything about it," Jogia said. Why newcomers may use consultants over lawyers Experts say newcomers prefer consultants to lawyers for their immigration paperwork and applications because they're more affordable. But there are calls for more scrutiny and enforcement by the CICC to penalize those operating without a licence. Unlicensed individuals acting as licensed consultants are known as ghost consultants. A new survey commissioned by CBC News has found more newcomers are choosing immigration consultants over lawyers, but they have concerns about oversight of both professions. The survey, conducted by market research firm Pollara in November 2024, asked 1,507 people who arrived in Canada in the past 10 years about their immigration experiences and found 33 per cent of those surveyed used consultants, while 16 per cent used lawyers. Overall, 89 per cent also said Canada needs to do a better job with regulating consultants and lawyers. A national survey of that size would normally have a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. What is Canada GMC and who owns it? On its website, Canada GMC advertises having a team of Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants (RCIC), but neither the company nor most of the staff the couple interacted with can be found on the public register of those certified. The seemingly multinational entity is owned by a company in Israel called Media Bubble. The Canada GMC website is owned and operated by a private company, WorldMigration Unipessoal LDA, which is based in Portugal and runs similar businesses for the U.K. and Australia. In Canada, the consultancy lists a downtown Ottawa address on its website. CBC reached out to the building operator, who confirmed no consultancy of that name ever ran its businesses there. New York state resident Lorre Denise Schneer said she too fell prey to Canada GMC. Schneer and her family were trying to immigrate to Canada as permanent residents. As a new mother, she paid Canada GMC $5,260 US to handle her application, only to realize one wasn't submitted. Like Jogia, Schneer and her family have tried all avenues to remedy the situation but to no avail. "I was so excited about Canada … but knowing that a country is allowing a business like this to operate and there's no ramifications for it, that gives me such a bad taste because this should never be allowed to happen, because even the smartest of individuals can fall prey to something like this." It's far from the only operation of its kind. Social media drive 'misinformation:' licensed consultant In the border city of Windsor, Ont., experts say ghost consultants are a rising problem. H&S operates in an unmarked industrial building in a trucking parking lot by Sandwich Street, walking distance from the Gordie Howe International Bridge. "At H&S Immigration, we're not just your typical immigration consultants — we're your partners in realizing your dreams," reads their website. "As a result of our unwavering commitment and high approval rates, we've proudly risen to become one of the leading immigration consultancies in North India." Calling itself a "trusted partner," the consultancy, which has been around for eight years, has two overseas branches in Punjab, India, a top country of origin for newcomers to Canada. But, like Canada GMC, it is not licensed and did not respond to multiple CBC requests. Hussein Zarif, executive director at Canada By Choice, an immigration consultancy, said the presence of unlicensed consultants is "very unfortunate but not surprising." Zarif said a majority of Canada By Choice's clients have been approached by fraudulent consultants promising them pathways to a permanent future in Canada, resulting in many "coming with tears" after being defrauded. "The people that are affected are the most vulnerable people. It is a rising problem," he said. "It hurts us licensed immigration consultants too." Often, it's recent newcomers who aren't aware of the legal systems and who fall prey to fraudulent consultants, Zarif said. From illegally selling job offers to helping bypass immigration requirements, these "warning signs" should alert newcomers of ghost consultants who often don't even submit applications, he added. "Education is a huge part of the solution of educating immigrants." The problem is more profound online. Social media like Instagram and YouTube are filled with pages and channels offering immigration advice — many call themselves educational consultants. Zarif said many clients walk in with false information they learned from social media consultants. "All that misinformation at the end of the day is going to lead people in desperate situations to take desperate actions rather than coming to a professional." College reviewing reports of fake consultants Becoming a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant involves completing an entry-to-practice exam and successful completion of a graduate diploma program through Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., or the University of Montreal. The schools say interest in these programs is growing. According to the CICC, there are 11,999 licensees in Canada, with 5,586 of them based in Ontario and the majority in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). The regulatory college said it has received 682 reports of unauthorized practitioners (UAP) since its inception in 2021. Of those, 289 remain open and are being reviewed. "Additionally, we have taken down more than 5,000 UAP social media pages and websites in the last year," the college said, noting it cannot hold them accountable for their actions. Lack of immigration lawyers adds to the problem In her more than three decades of experience of working with newcomers, Shelley Gilbert, executive director of Legal Assistance of Windsor, has seen the threat of ghost consultants first hand. But with recent immigration changes and the path to remain in Canada on a permanent basis becoming more difficult, Gilbert said there are "more and more people desperate" to stay. "That gave an opportunity for unscrupulous people to take advantage of all of that desperation that we're seeing here now. The numbers [of such consultants] have likely gone up because they prey on that," she said. As recent newcomers find different avenues to remain, the bad actors, Gilbert said, continue to exploit applicants by offering pathways that don't exist. She said part of her organization's job is to provide accurate information and education. "One of the difficulties that we have in Windsor and Essex County is a lack of immigration lawyers," she said, paving the way for consultants to bridge that gap. Gilbert advises asking for references and getting second opinions. "It's hard to do because very often, exploitive consultants will also make people feel bad for asking questions, for questioning their authority. That should also be a red flag for you." Legal recourse also limited: immigration lawyer Andrew Koltun, an immigration lawyer in Ontario's Niagara Region, is calling for changes to the Immigration Refugee Protection Act to protect people who fall victim to scams. The Federal Court has determined that if you use a representative in your immigration claims, you are responsible for their actions, including any misrepresentation, Koltun said. In effect, then, if you want to try to hold a scam consultant legally accountable, you're effectively revealing you've committed misrepresentation. "That would then likely lead to your deportation from Canada," he said. "So, there's that big fear. That means if you take action against someone who has really scammed you, it will lead to your removal from Canada, which is the opposite of what you want." Knowing that general fear of deportation, Koltun said, fraudulent consultants threaten reporting such clients to authorities if they want to pursue any legal action against them. There are going to be "collateral consequences of trying to seek justice."
CBC
18-02-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Former Nickelodeon star Avan Jogia reflects on the dark side of being a teen actor
As a former Nickelodeon star, Avan Jogia had to grow up fast. The Canadian actor got his breakthrough role playing Beck Oliver on the teen sitcom Victorious, which thrust him into the spotlight and turned him into a heartthrob. Now, he's released a new book of poetry, Autopsy (of an Ex-Teen Heartthrob), which takes aim at the artifice of Hollywood and the crushing pressures that young actors face. "I've been writing poetry since I was 15 years old," Jogia tells Q 's Tom Power in an interview over Zoom. "A lot of that poetry was about my frustrations about being on a show that I don't think really represented me creatively." During his time on Victorious, Jogia says he felt like he was simply performing "adolescence and purity," while not actually experiencing much of an adolescence himself. Not only that, but he felt more like a product or a brand than a real person. "Part of being a teen idol is being sort of shapeless as a person and not really having that strong an identity," he says. "There's really a desire for the 'hot guy' to just be a non-person…. You represent a comfort and a perfect thing." Jogia's poem I am on set getting yelled at is about his experience being chastised while filming a Season 2 episode of Victorious. Last year, a five-part documentary series, Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, revealed how Nickelodeon failed to protect its child actors from abuse and misconduct. "I think that there's sort of a mock sympathy, especially around documentaries like Quiet on Set," Jogia says. "It's ambulance chasing and tragedy porn masquerading as sympathy. I'm very distrustful of public interest about this subject because I think it's clickbait-y and it's for media outlets and studios to make money. I don't think the sympathy that they're getting from the audience is real." The reason Jogia turned to poetry as a creative outlet to unpack his feelings and observations about the sinister side of fame is because it's very personal, immediate and independent. "Directing a film takes a lot of time and a lot of money and a lot of people," he explains. "Acting requires a gig. It's cathartic, but you're also saying other people's words…. Painting is messy, a lot of paint. But writing is one of the most immediate impulses that I have."
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Halsey Reveals the ‘Amazing' Way Fiancé Avan Jogia Proposed in Barcelona
Avan Jogia's proposal to Halsey was one to remember! On The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the singer opened up about the special way the actor asked her to marry him in Barcelona, a city of personal significance for them. Halsey and Jogia have been together since October 2023 and got engaged nearly a year later. Related: Halsey Confirms Her Engagement to Former Nickelodeon Actor Avan Jogia! Halsey, who shares 3-year-old son Ender with ex Alev Aydin, shared that she had an inkling that Jogia would propose. For their anniversary, he took her on a plane to Barcelona — "with a layover, in Canada" — but didn't loop her in on any plans, she said. When they got to the Spanish city, they decided to get on a boat because "we both love boats," she added. The thought of a proposal against such a beautiful backdrop crossed her mind, but they were both "sun drunk" and very relaxed — so Halsey determined the odds of Jogia popping the question were low. "We were sitting next to each other, and he was like, 'Come down on the floor.' So I got down on the floor of this boat, and he pulled out the ring," Halsey said. "He said, 'What's a little bit of marriage between friends?' " she added. Fallon couldn't contain his excitement at the story: "That's a good line!" he exclaimed. "And I was like, 'Yeah, I'll do a little bit of marriage with you,' " Halsey continued. " 'I'd prefer to do a lot of it.' " The "Bad at Love" singer previously shared details about the proposal on an episode of Call Her Daddy. 'It's kind of like where we first started hanging out, so it's really special to us. I wasn't sure that I was ready, but I was also kind of like, 'You're literally the most amazing, smartest, hottest, nicest person I've ever met in my life, so don't go anywhere.' I'm trying to figure it out," Halsey told podcast host Alex Cooper. Related: Avan Jogia Weathered Teen Stardom. Now He Reveals How it 'Dramatically' Changed His Life in New Book Autopsy (Exclusive) Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The singer shared that, like many, her first exposure to Jogia was on Nickelodeon, when he starred in Victorious as Beck. She often watched the show while babysitting after school, Halsey said. Sometimes, her brothers would walk in on her watching the show. "And they'd be like, 'You just think Beck is cute!'" she said, adding with a smirk, "I did just think Beck was cute." Read the original article on People
USA Today
14-02-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Avan Jogia dissects the dark side of Nickelodeon and teen stardom in 'Autopsy'
When Avan Jogia turned 17, his life changed in two ways. He moved to Los Angeles after landing his first acting job as teenage heartthrob "Beck Oliver" on Nickelodeon's "Victorious," and his mom was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Abruptly thrown into Hollywood, Jogia faced an unsettling juxtaposition — he was at the start of a promising career, simultaneously navigating newfound independence amid his mother's cancer diagnosis. But before he could establish his identity, an idealized version of himself was being fawned over in Tiger Beat and J-14 magazine spreads. 'I was having a more serious experience than I probably should have been,' he says. 'There's an unreality that orbits Nickelodeon. Everyone's like, 'Wow, these kids got picked out of obscurity and they're going to be stars, and all of their backstories are normal and everyone is healthy.' It doesn't allow for reality, for humanity to occur.' Jogia turned 33 on Sunday. On Tuesday, he released his second book 'Autopsy (of an ex-teen heartthrob),' a collection of poetry and prose chronicling his coming of age under the spotlight. Ahead of his sold-out launch party at The Strand in New York, Jogia and I spoke over Zoom. His voice — pensive and composed — has hardly changed since his Nickelodeon days, which he says he also realized while rewatching old interviews from "Victorious." Behind him, an abundance of black, silver, and gold birthday balloons still decorated the walls. He turned the camera to show me a display of decadent mochi donuts, and it seemed like one celebration had bled into the next. Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle. Unlike the festive décor, "Autopsy" is pretty serious. It doesn't shy away from themes of death, exploring suicidal ideation and mortality bluntly alongside the perils of fame. Teen fame creates a 'weird fantasy relationship' Jogia says the illusion of unconflicted success is what creates a 'weird fantasy relationship' between the 'teen idol' and the audience member, or the fan, and ultimately disconnected his experience of fame from reality. Jogia always felt like an outsider — even with a front-row seat at parties in Hollywood Hills. "Hollywood is a fraternity, a boys' club I've never felt comfortable or included in," he writes in "Autopsy." 'I'm a poor kid from Vancouver who grew up in government housing, who, as soon as the show started, my mom got cancer,' he says. 'When you remove that context, I think it's a disservice to both myself and to the audience member experiencing me.' 'I imagine Jennette (McCurdy) must have felt the same way about her life," he adds. 'I'm Glad My Mom Died':How Jennette McCurdy escaped her narcissistic mother's 'excruciating' abuse Jogia got creative with his promotional videos for "Autopsy." In one, he sits in a sterile room as an old interview of him is projected onto a white sheet, draped over a gurney. He lip-syncs to his younger self: "What I love about my job is that I get the chance to hopefully brighten people's day." In the interview, Jogia is indistinguishable from his "Victorious" character Beck, who also had aspirations of being an actor. 'I was Beck at that time," he says. "Those are little Avan's dreams that I'm saying. It was part of the nauseating amount of promo they made us do at that time.' In 2023 Jogia made his directorial debut with a Canadian film "Door Mouse," and finally "found his role" in the industry. However, "place is a different thing," he says. "I think that what's changed for me is the delusion, or the (idea) that the work that I want is out there for me. I don't feel that anymore. I feel like if I want to be a part of it, I'm going to have to make that personally." Avan Jogia on filming 'Victorious': 'We weren't seen as the kids we were' The second to last piece in the book, 'I am on set getting yelled at,' takes place in 2010 during the filming of 'Ice Cream for Ke$ha,' a Season 2 episode of 'Victorious." 'I am still a teenager, and I am shaking with rage. The kind of quiet anger that makes you change… I am tired, I am hungover, and I am bored,' Jogia writes, detailing his frustration as he continuously mispronounces Kesha's name. 'There's a famous 'Victorious' blooper of me messing that line up. That was a horribly embarrassing day for me,' he tells me with a slight laugh, like he is still masquerading the discomfort the reel brings. And while in past interviews Jogia has said he doesn't look back on 'Victorious' fondly, he wanted to be very clear in our interview that it was 'so much fun on set.' His co-stars — Ariana Grande, Elizabeth Gillies, Leon Thomas, Daniella Monet, Victoria Justice, Matt Bennett and more — are his 'college friends,' and the most important part of his Nickelodeon experience. This week, there's been an outpouring of love between the former co-stars. Grande commented on Jogia's Instagram that she 'couldn't resist' ordering a copy of his book ("i love you," she wrote), and Jogia previously shouted out Thomas' latest album 'MUTT,' which entered the Billboard Top 100 on Feb. 8. The years spent filming 'Victorious' were 'some of the best years' of Jogia's life, spent with his best friends, but it was also 'grueling' and ultimately a job that required 'long, exhausting hours.' Often, he 'felt alone in L.A.' 'We weren't seen as the kids we were,' he says. 'When I look back at those moments that were embarrassing for me and joyful for others, I'm more interested in how that kind of dichotomy can exist. That my reality and someone else's reality can be so disparate.' 'Autopsy' examines mortality, remembrance and celebrity death Writing 'Autopsy,' Jogia didn't realize how often thoughts of death landed on the page — the word appears 15 times throughout the book's 225 pages. In the poem 'it's important to die in a cool way,' he writes: 'They say fame is immortality / But it's not really … In order to matter after your death / Firstly, your death must be untimely.' 'A book about self-dissection and looking at an old version of yourself sort of requires you to talk about and look at death for two reasons,' Jogia explains. 'One being, you have to kill off the older version of yourself… and two, your legacy is so closely tied to your mortality.' But Jogia doesn't believe in immortality, and he's not scared of being forgotten. That's inevitable, he says. But when I ask him if the thought of being remembered as a former Nickelodeon star scares him, he says yes. 'We encapsulate people in general for a single portion of their life,' he says. 'When something really human happens (to a celebrity), like their death, you boil down their entire life to an aspect of their life, and in doing that, you remove their dignity.' Poetry and what it means to Jogia At the end of our call, we talk about how a sector of poetry has taken a dark turn towards appeasing the masses — Instagrammable squares that refuse to ignite discomfort. 'It's losing a tiny bit of teeth,' he says. I tell Jogia to read 'Self-Portrait Against Red Wallpaper' by Richard Siken, who he hasn't heard of. There's a line I cite from 'Birds Hover the Trampled Field' that resonates: 'The enormity of my desire disgusts me.' 'Autopsy' wasn't written as an act of healing, or in hopes of virality, but rather as an act of self-discovery and self-dissection, Jogia explains. He attempted to be entirely honest with his lived experience — facing the enormity of his desires and fears as a naïve actor at the start of a burgeoning career, and as a young man who was trying to find his way in the world, just like anyone else. If his writing makes you uncomfortable or forces you to look inward, that means it's working.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Victorious' Spinoff ‘Hollywood Arts' in Development at Nickelodeon
A new 'Victorious' spinoff is in the works at Nickelodeon, TheWrap has learned. The network is in the midst of developing a series centered on Trina Vega (Daniella Monet), the older sister of 'Victorious' lead Tori (Victoria Justice). Its working title, 'Hollywood Arts,' is a reference to the fictitious performing arts high school featured in 'Victorious.' If it receives an official greenlight from Nickelodeon, the comedy will follow Monet's Trina as she returns to Hollywood Arts High School as a teacher. In addition to leading the series, Monet is also attached as an executive producer alongside writers Samantha Martin and Jake Farrow, the latter of whom previously worked as a writer and producer on both 'Victorious' and its first spinoff 'Sam & Cat.' Monet and fellow 'Victorious' co-star Avan Jogia posted about 'Hollywood Arts' on their respective Instagram Stories on Thursday. Jogia wrote that he 'could not be happier' for Monet, to which she responded, 'Love you.' Created by 'Quiet on Set' subject Dan Schneider, 'Victorious' follows the teenage students of an elite performing arts school as they regularly get into wacky hijinks while pursuing their own artistic dreams. The series ran on Nickelodeon for four seasons from 2010 to 2013. The core 'Victorious' cast not only included Justice, Monet, Jogia, Leon Thomas III, Matt Bennett and Liz Gillies, but also, notably, a then-up-and-coming Ariana Grande. The 'Wicked' star subsequently reprised her role as Cat Valentine in the joint 'Victorious' and 'iCarly' spinoff 'Sam & Cat,' which only lasted one year on Nickelodeon but ran for 35 episodes in that time. Schneider, who created 'Victorious,' 'Sam & Cat' and a number of other Nickelodeon shows, is not involved in 'Hollywood Arts.' The producer and TV creator exited Nickelodeon in 2018. In 2024, Investigation Discovery released 'Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,' a five-part documentary series about the toxic environment that was created and disturbing behavior that was permitted on Schneider's children's TV projects during his tenure at Nickelodeon. In response, Schneider initially posted a YouTube video apologizing for some of his past actions, but later sued the 'Quiet on Set' producers for defamation. Outside of Monet, it's unclear who else might star in 'Hollywood Arts' should it move forward at Nickelodeon. Cameos from co-stars like Justice, Jogia and others don't seem out of the question, but 'Victorious' fans will have to wait for the time being to learn more about the spinoff and its official cast. The post 'Victorious' Spinoff 'Hollywood Arts' in Development at Nickelodeon appeared first on TheWrap.
