On 18 February the Indian High Commission in Ottawa issued an advisory for over 2,000 Indian students who were left high and dry when three Montreal colleges declared bankruptcy last month. M College, CED College and CCSQ College were owned by the Mastantuono family — including Caroline, Christina, Joseph and Giuseppe Mastantuono — under the umbrella name RPI Group.
The text of the advisory from the High Commission is set out in the tweet below.
RPI Group also includes an education agency, Rising Phoenix International Inc. Thecompany’s website – http://www.risingphoenixinternational.ca/ – appears to be offline, but it’s Facebook page remained live as at at 21 February and explains that the firm provides “international student placements for Quebec & Canada”.
The Mastantuono family is involved in another legal matter involving international students.
In November 2020, Qubec’s anti-corruption unit arrested Caroline Mastantuono and her daughter, Christina, for allegedly committing fraud to facilitate the processing of student permit applications while working at the Lester B. Pearson School Board between 2014 and 2016.
The allegations occurred before RPI Both of the accused deny any wrongdoing and have contested the charges against them. The case is still before the courts.
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Source: CBC, Deccan Herald