Montreal music festival turns out to be scam

Many who were hoping to see top artists this summer in Montreal’s Old Port like Harry styles, Doja Cat, SZA and more, were left empty-handed after the so-called “Aurora Festival” was revealed to be fake.

Avid concert attendee, Sam Belleus, was one of the first to point out the validity of the festival after she says she saw multiple red flags.

“Upon seeing the line-up, I already knew something was very strange,” explained Belleus. “My friends sent me the poster being like, Oh my God, we should go to this. And I was immediately like, This is not real.”

Belleus took it upon herself to get to the bottom of it, she says, the artists that were preforming were all geared towards a younger audience, “like you’re trying to rob children, I thought was absolutely unacceptable.”

One of the main red flags, Groupe Cenari Inc, the organizing event company, has only been listed on Quebec’s official registry of enterprises since September 2022.

“The fact that it was not even a year old to me, how are you booking these big artists?” She asked. “That doesn’t make sense. We’re talking about people who probably cost half a million dollars to book.”

The supposed festival advertised online that it would be running from June 1 to June 3, with sponsors like American Express who tell City News they have no affiliation with the festival, and “any use of our logo in relation to this festival has been used without our permission.” Ticket prices for each day spanned upwards of $300, the weekend would total close to $900, triple what most other Montreal festivals cost.

“Festivals like Osheaga, you could pay something like $400 for the full three days. This festival, we’re talking about $400 for one day, $300 for the other day,” explained Belleus.

A spokesperson for Montreal’s Old Port said in a statement, they learned about the existence of this festival, just like the general public, through social media and online. That “A festival with such well-known names would have been planned months in advance, and neither the SPVM nor other partners in our area have been approached […] we confirm that the Aurora Festival is fraudulent.”

#WATCH: “Absolutely unacceptable,” says Sam Belleus an avid concert attendee about the so-called “Aurora Festival” in Montreal’s Old Port which was found to be fake.

READ : https://t.co/qzbWBSzc9l pic.twitter.com/ispOWgGw9I

— CityNews Montreal (@CityNewsMTL) March 13, 2023

The website for the Festival has since been taken down. CityNews reached out for comment through the festival’s Instagram page, but have not heard back at this time.

Belleus says, those behind the Faux Festival may have gotten away with it, if they had chosen smaller artists, “I think it attracted way too much attention,” said Belleus.

La Presse reported that in the five days, Cenari made over $7,000 in fraudulent ticket sales.

The SPVM confirm they received a small number of complaints but that for confidentiality reasons, they could not confirm if an investigation is underway.

Adding, “We urge people to be extremely vigilant when shopping online and to verify as much information as possible. For more prevention tips, we invite you to consult the Canadian Anti-Fraud Center website.”

Belleus is urging the same. “We are definitely seeing the rise of fake festivals. This is not new. This is something that’s on the rise, and people should be a little bit more vigilant about it and cautious.”