Karen Robinson facing TICO charges

A Fort Erie travel agent is facing a pair of Travel Industry Act charges in addition to criminal charges of fraud, TICO said this week.

Karen Robinson, also known as Karen Gushue, was charged with two counts of operating as a travel agent without registration. She operated in Fort Erie and elsewhere in Ontario. The first court appearance in the above matter is scheduled for Oct. 13, 2017 at 9 a.m. at the Ontario Court of Justice, Provincial Offences Court, located at 71 King Street, St. Catherines, Ontario.

Robinson was previously charged in May by the Niagara Regional Police Central Fraud Unit with one count of fraud over $5,000 and one count of fraud under $5,000. According to police, more than 140 complainants alleged that Robinson solicited funds between August 2016 and February 2017 for multiple cruises that were either never booked or were not as advertised. In addition to Karen Gushue, Robinson also went under the name Karen Hannis, police said.

The charges are a parallel proceeding to prosecution under the Act and are currently before the Ontario Court of Justice, Criminal Division.