We are a group of private citizens in Canada, who have invested significant amounts of money in a franchise company in Ontario by the names of Pizza One, Pizza Uno, and Anthony's Kitchen; all of these franchises are related companies owned by the Reza Solhi family. In all cases, we were lied to by Mr. Solhi and provided with misleading information about these franchise opportunities in order to get us to invest whatever monies we had with him; additionally, several of us were threatened by Mr. Solhi. For the most part, Mr. Solhi targets new immigrants to Canada and does not encourage anyone to seek proper legal advice.
People have lost anywhere from 10,000 Canadian Dollars to 250,000 Canadian Dollars as deposit money and recieved nothing.Ontop we have incurred several thousand dollars as legal fees to fight him in court.
There are over a million dollars in unpaid judgments against Mr. Solhi and he has cheated many people as far back as 1999 with enormous emotional and financial consequences to many Canadians. Some victims have been forced into personal and business bankruptcy.One of the victims developed a brain tumor and the doctor said that it was a result of all the stress she was undergoing. Another victim lost 40 pounds within few days when he found out that he was cheated.People had got a second mortgage on their house inorder to invest in a business and were forced to work 2 jobs for 7 days a week to repay loans.We are frustrated because there has been no justice. Reza Solhi a.k.a Anthony and his associates are still operating and selling masterfranchises.
Previously, the Solhi family owned and operated the 3 for 1 Pizza chain; the serious legal and ethical problems related with their operation of this franchise system are well documented in several court cases. In 2004, Mr. Solhi faced criminal fraud charges in Toronto related to his operation of the 3 for 1 Pizza chain which were dropped in a negotiated settlement with the Crown; he took deposits and provided no consideration in return for the deposits.
Subsequently, he was ordered by the court not to sell franchises in Canada. But this was not enough to stop him. Since 3 for 1 Pizza, Mr. Solhi and his family have moved on to start several new franchise ventures (despite being ordered by the Court not to do so) under different names like Pizza One, Pizza Uno, and Anthony's Kitchen (www.anthonyskitchen.com) using the same business tactics described above; further, he has recently expanded his business operations by offering for sale master franchisees in Anthony's Kitchen (www.anthonyskitchenmasterfranchises.com) and is selling in the States. It is clear that the problem is only growing bigger.
One wonders how Mr. Solhi is able to continue his fraudulent practices despite the efforts of law enforcement agencies. Why he is not concerned about the consequences of his actions? The reason is the current weakness in the franchise law, lack of enforceability of civil judgments (unless the claimants spend more money to enforce judgments) and inability of the authorities to charge him criminally.
There are several franchise boards that advertise for them like FoodFranchise.com and do not make efforts to check the disclosure document to ensure that the opportunity is genuine.
We informed the International Franchise Association and the Chairperson "Daw" but they did not care even though they are selling in the States because it is a Canadian company and also they are not members.
The Canadian government and Ministry of Gerry Phillips has not been receptive in plugging the legal loopholes that would prevent such frauds and our efforts have been unsuccessful to date.
Victim
Toronto, Ontario
Canada