The co-founder of a Toronto-based talent agency is facing fraud and theft charges after more than 60 people claimed they were owed over $600,000 in unpaid wages.
Police say the victims had all signed on with Compass Artist Management Inc., to complete various acting assignments from different media companies. In exchange, the victims were promised a percentage of their wages from the assignments with the remaining percentage paid to the agency.
However, a number of actors and other artists came forward to say they had not been paid for work they had done.
Actress and dancer Golden Madison told CityNews last October she was owed anywhere from $10,000 to $15,000 after landing several roles in high-profile commercials.
“I wasn’t nervous. I didn’t think that anything sketchy had gone on. I thought maybe this agency is different, and maybe they process payments differently, so I emailed them,” Madison said.
“The next email I got was one of my agents resigning. And I knew right then and there that something bad had happened with the money.”
The agency ceased operations in October 2022.
Police say they launched an investigation after receiving more than 50 similar complaints and in July 2023, 57-year-old Daniel Friedman was charged with fraud over $5,000 and theft exceeding $5,000.
Friedman told CityNews last October that he was “sick” about what had transpired with the agency’s clients but noted that “there is no malice here.”
“It’s important for me that people know I empathize more than anyone will ever know … I don’t expect anyone to feel bad for me, but please realize this wasn’t some kind of scheme to take people’s money and sail off into the sunset,” he said in a statement at the time.
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