Mississauga man accused of organizing fake charity runs says the events were legitimate

A Mississauga man accused of organizing fake charity running races says the races were real.

Over the last two years, runners have reported signing up for races in the GTA, but when they arrived at the event, they couldn’t find race infrastructure or organizers. The races were posted as fundraisers for various charities, according to a Canadian Running Magazine story.

Complaints surfaced recently for races in High Park on Victoria Day, another in Tommy Thompson Park for Canada Day, and a third, the Remembrance Race on Nov. 9 at Humber Bay.

“It seems the same guy hosted a small 5k race in High Park on Victoria Day and likely didn’t have permission to do it there either,” a poster wrote on Reddit about the Tommy Thompson race. “From what I can tell, he did the bare minimum and probably made a few thousand dollars in return.”

People were angry when they turned up for the Remembrance Race.

“This event was supposed to happen Nov 9th at 9am,” the poster wrote. “Instead, a bunch of participants and volunteers showed up at the start-finish location only to find that no one from the event had actually arrived.”

The race was advertised as a fundraiser for the Royal Canadian Legion, which upset people.

“I’m not so worried about the 30 dollars I lost,” the Reddit poster wrote. “I’m upset they are using the Legion as a front, as well as Remembrance Day to do something so heinous.”

But the Mississauga man tells INsauga.com that the races were real, and the Remembrance Race was cancelled due to heavy snowfall and held virtually. He said he refunded racers who were unhappy with the event. The other races happened and he did donate funds to charities, he said.

“The races weren’t fake,” the man insisted. “They happened.”

INsauga.com is choosing not to name the man as he hasn’t been charged with a crime.

A fraud report is on file and it is under investigation, a Toronto Police spokesperson told INsauga.com. No charges have been laid at this time, police said.

The races were posted on the free event-hosting service Eventbrite. In an email sent to INsauga.com, Eventbrite said they are looking into the claims.

“Eventbrite takes these claims very seriously and is actively investigating the races in question,” the statement read. “Should our investigation conclude that these races were indeed fraudulent, all ticket holders will be refunded.”

Before posting on Eventbrite, multiple events were posted on Race Roster.

A Race Roster spokesperson told INsauga.com that they identified concerns with events organized by the same Mississauga resident in 2024.

“Once those concerns were raised, we halted the events, removed his access to the platform, and refunded all affected participants,” the spokesperson said. “Protecting the integrity of our platform and the safety of the running community is a top priority for us.”

The Mississauga man admits he was inexperienced when he first started organizing races last year.

“I didn’t know that I needed all the city permits,” he said.

He doesn’t plan on hosting any races in the near future.

“After what happened here, with the (Canadian Running Magazine) article, and with the public being so angry with the events, I think I’m going to take a couple of years and consult with the city permit officers more and with lawyers to make sure that I am doing this correctly,” he said.

Photos: RUN 4 FFWPU