Toronto talent agency director allegedly defrauded clients out of $600k
More than 60 former clients have so far claimed wages were withheld by the company that shut down in the fall of 2022
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The co-founder of a well-known Toronto talent agency is accused of defrauding over 60 clients out of more than $600,000 before abruptly shutting down the company last year.
Toronto Police say an investigation was launched last fall into the director of Compass Artist Management Inc. after dozens of artists represented by the talent agency complained about wages being withheld between August 2020 and October 2022.
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“The accused had a roster of talent who were contracted through Compass Artist Management Inc. to complete various acting assignments from different media companies,” Const. Laurie McCann said in a statement released Wednesday.
She explained that the clients signed a contract with the company stating “the talent would receive a percentage of their wages from their acting assignments and the remaining percentage would be paid to Compass Artist Management Inc.”
But after the completion of their assignments, the clients allegedly failed to receive their full wages, McCann said.
She said 60 former clients have so far come forward and the total loss of wages to date is just over $600,000.
Daniel Friedman, 57, of Toronto, was arrested on July 29. He was charged with fraud over $5000 and theft exceeding $5000.
On his LinkedIn profile, Friedman describes himself as the president and founder of Compass Artist Management.
He reportedly launched the company in the summer of 2020 — during the pandemic — with his sister Robyn Friedman, a longtime talent agent and manager.
Compass grew into a well-known agency, representing hundreds of actors, stunt people and other performers.
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But Robyn Friedman, who has claimed she had no involvement in the company’s finances, suddenly resigned in September 2022 as complaints from clients piled up.
“When I started to hear that clients were waiting on payments, I approached Danny and he repeatedly told me payments were imminent,” Robyn Friedman claimed to CP24 in November 2022. “When I continued to hear complaints from clients, I decided I did not want to continue working with an agency that was not paying its talent and made the difficult decision to leave the agency.”
Daniel Friedman claimed to CP24, also in November 2022, that the business “fell behind” and “struggled like many other small businesses over the past couple of years.”
Anyone with information regarding this investigation is urged to call the Financial Crimes Unit at 416-808-7300 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
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