The allegations against Nathan Scuderi, founder of fake Montreal festival Aurora, have sparked dismay among his former employees, many of whom have turned to police since last Thursday.
Posted at 5:00 am
Graphic designers, videographers, social network managers, artists, promoters: they are now convinced that their time and money have been stolen by the Cenari Group over the past few months. The event agency has not had a website since Friday and its boss cannot be reached.
Cenari CEO Kyllian Mahieu has filed a complaint with the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) and has been trying to clear his name since last Thursday. He learned of Aurora’s existence around the same time as everyone else. It was then that he understood the scam was related to his name, he who founded the company in 2022 with Nathan Scuderi. He has been trying to distance himself from it since last January, when he first realized his business partner was unreliable.
An investigation was launched by the SPVM on Saturday following his complaint, confirmed Kyllian Mahieu. “I chose to be optimistic,” he says. I’ll do my best to prove my good faith. It is now in the hands of the judiciary. »
It was he who allowed the site to shut down: he said he had convinced one of those still associated with the company “after lengthy negotiations” to give him restricted access to the platform.
We still don’t know where the money goes from people who bought tickets, but we do know who the people who spent are [pour le festival Aurora]. At least now the ticket sales have stopped and the page is no longer public, although I keep it active so I can turn it over to the police.
Kyllian Mahieu, CEO of the Cenari Group
Whether business partners, spouses, friends or freelancers: since he hit the headlines, the list of people who claim to have been harmed by the young entrepreneur has been growing. Nathan Scuderi has been involved in a series of scams since 2019, according to an investigation published last Friday by La Presse1.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, PRESS ARCHIVE
Nathan Scuderi, in 2021
According to our information, many Cenari employees have filed complaints with the SPVM since Thursday, but most have been referred to a civil court because the dispute – unpaid sums – stemmed from an employment or service contract.
In another case, a man filed a complaint against Nathan Scuderi with the Régie intermunicipale de police Richelieu-Saint-Laurent on Friday, a spokesman confirmed. The complainant claims to have been cheated out of around $15,000 as part of a business partnership. The file will be sent to the investigation office shortly.
Regarding the fake festival itself announced for June in the Old Port, “the SPVM has received only a very small number of complaints,” according to a spokesman.
Shocked colleagues
Since the beginning of October, Nicolas Saavedra-Fusinato, who dances and sings under the pseudonym Nick Saanto, has been responsible in particular for the organization of Fun Factory, a first evening promoted by Cenari, to be held on February 18th at the Bain Mathieu Montréal.
He crossed paths with Nathan Scuderi while working at Le Date Bar in the Village. “I saw that Cenari is looking for employees to organize queer events. I wrote to him asking if I would fit into the company and vice versa. “Everything pointed to it, yes…
Nick Saanto says he spent “at least 80 hours” organizing the dance party. However, towards the end of January, he says, Nathan Scuderi called him to say that Fun Factory had been cancelled.
Nick Saanto says he agreed to work on rescheduling the evening, which he had already designed the program for, but was surprised by his boss that he had not received a salary in more than three months of work. Mr Scuderi would then have promised him an advance. That would never have happened. “No other financial compensation either,” he regrets today.
Nick Saanto says he’s still having trouble knowing if he was working on real or fictional events. But by Wednesday, when the entire Cenari team had access to the social media channels of Fun Factory and Scandalous Drag Brunch, another queer event dreamed up by Nathan Scuderi, the die was cast, he says. “It was my first major contract but this is an experience that stains my name and, I think, takes away my credibility with people I respect. »
fees not paid
A graphic designer, who asked for anonymity for fear of professional repercussions, explains that he has worked dozens of hours on various projects launched by Nathan Scuderi, including the erotic art fair Sexposition, which was scheduled to take place on March 25-26 at the Bain Mathieu .
“He ripped us off like that,” says the visual artist on the phone.
We have a Facebook group with victims and we are all traumatized. He managed to convince us to work like dogs for projects that don’t exist. I wasted my time and my dignity.
A graphic designer who has worked on various projects by Nathan Scuderi and is testifying on condition of anonymity
Including his equipment and fees, the graphic designer and videographer estimates his financial loss at more than $15,000.
Another ex-business partner of Scuderi, who chose not to give her name for the same reasons, told La Presse she put many hours of work into the sex position event without ever being paid.
Nathan Scuderi, she says with screenshots to back it up, advertises primarily on social media and promises whoever would join him incredible prizes — like tens of thousands of dollars for a weekend fashion fair. “When he presented his business plan to me, I realized that it made no sense,” explains the woman who wanted to make her first steps in events. After leaving the ship, she learned that Scuderi had simply continued to work on sex positions with another partner.
On Friday afternoon, the management of the Bain Mathieu announced the definitive cancellation of the “7. Sexposition” known due to “unfortunate events related to the Cenari Group”.
As for those who bought sex position tickets or exhibition walls, the plaintiffs claim to have been informed by the police that they can only be considered victims after the dates scheduled for the event.
In tinkling silver
Photographer Arielle Livernoche, who does nudes among other things, is one of the artists who, at the suggestion of a friend, reserved a wall for sex positions. After doing some research on the Cenari group, she said she agreed to meet Nathan Scuderi at Café Cherrier, Rue Saint-Denis, to sign a contract on Tuesday 7th March.
“He insisted that he liked my work very, very much. He wanted to sell me more than one wall. At the end he said: “I’ll give you two, but you only pay for one.” »
In order to pay the sum of $402.50 for two days of exposure, the photographer explains that she offered him an Interac transfer. “Cash would be better,” the organizer would have replied, pointing to an ATM in a convenience store across the street. “I understood why he chose this cafe. He even offered to reimburse me for the machine. »
After hesitation, she says she agreed to withdraw the money and give it to him. Nathan Scuderi would then have paid the bill – two cups of tea – at Café Cherrier, leaving before walking to the Mont-Royal tube station. “It wasn’t even subtle. »
The young man had created the wrong musical appointment Aurora just the previous weekend. Arielle Livernoche says that during the meeting, Nathan Scuderi leaked to her that he was returning from New York, where he was said to have signed deals for a music festival, including one with Doja Cat as the headliner. She understood a few days later in the media that he was talking about Aurora.
Neither La Presse nor anyone else she spoke to has been able to reach Nathan Scuderi since last Thursday.
How to protect yourself from wrong events?
“We are seeing more and more scams of this type [du festival Aurora] says Fyscillia Ream, scientific coordinator of the Cybercrime Prevention Research Chair and doctoral student at the School of Criminology at the Université de Montréal.
“Overall, fraud always evolves according to the social and political context,” says Ms. Ream. For example, right now with the housing crisis, we have a lot more housing scams. Also, people are starting to come out, planning to go to concerts and festivals, so they want to take advantage of such opportunities. »
The social network factor plays a big part in a scam, especially as people tend to pay less attention than when they see an ad on a website, for example. “We can have comments among the releases to say the product is great, which affects enthusiasm, explains Fyscillia Ream. We also manage to reach many more people because it appeals to everyone. »
Important reminder for those who come across events that seem a little too good to be true but appear legit: “Anyone with a little tech can create a fake social media account and website” , says Éric Parent, cybercrime expert and president of cybersecurity firm EVA Technologies.
“It doesn’t cost a lot of money, even if we pay advertising for more exposure,” adds Fyscillia Ream. So even if a few tickets are sold at $300 each, for the little effort it takes, it’s already very profitable. »
The two experts, in the same voice, advise doing a lot of research as soon as you have the slightest doubt about an event or a product sold online. For example, for the Aurora Festival, it was enough to consult the websites of the artists in the program to see that some would not even be available on the announced dates. And if the artist’s website doesn’t announce the event, that’s a bad sign, adds Éric Parent. It is imperative to go to secure platforms to obtain tickets, such as the artists’ official pages or the well-known sales sites.
Another piece of advice from the two cybersecurity specialists: make sure the payment method allows for a refund in the event of a mishap. Most credit cards have insurance that gives you the option to get your money back, but “an Interac transfer isn’t the best idea,” says Éric Parent. This type of fraud is unlikely to decrease, he believes. The consumer needs to be extra careful.
Marissa Groguhé, La Presse