The man behind a talent search using the name of Canadian Idol and targeting aspiring pop stars in First Nations communities has previously been convicted of fraud in Alberta and is the subject of a Better Business Bureau warning, CBC News has learned.
Angela Reynolds, an aspiring singer from the Stellat'en First Nation, says she was excited when she read that auditions were being held on her tiny reservice in northern B.C. It was billed as a First Nations version of Canadian Idol.
"It said you could win $50,000 and a recording contract and they said … it was like a bus tour and they were going to be visiting reserves across Canada," she told CBC News.
But when Reynolds inquired about the audition, the person on the other end of the phone demanded a $150 fee up front.
"He couldn't tell me what dates, he couldn't give me an estimate of what dates," she said.
"I was angry, I was so angry thinking 'What can I do to stop this?'"
Scammed exhibitors
CBC News has learned Paul Pearson, the man behind the contest, doesn't own the licence or copyright to Canadian Idol —for which auditions are always free.
The contest's website lists Google and Best Western as sponsors, but those companies told CBC News they had never heard of the talent search. The company listed as the tour bus sponsor also told CBC News it was not involved with the contest.
These sponsors were pulled from the website after calls from CBC News. (CBC) Pearson was convicted and fined under the Trade Practices Act in 2002 for deceiving customers of his log home business. He declared bankruptcy three years later.
The address where aspiring singers are instructed to mail their audition fee is Pearson's home, where he just finished serving 20 months of house arrest after pleading guilty to 17 counts of fraud in Alberta. Pearson scammed dozens of exhibitors out of thousands of dollars for entry into a phoney trade show.
He was arrested last year for breaching the conditions of his release, which prohibited him from accessing a computer, but the terms of his released were later changed to allow computer access.
The Better Business Bureau has issued a warning about him and his aliases.
'Buyer beware'
Juno-award winning artist Kinnie Starr, who mentors aspiring aboriginal musicians, cautions people to be wary of anything promising overnight success.
"I'm concerned about anyone getting scammed, but it's buyer beware and you need to do your research," she said.
Paul Pearson was convicted and fined under the Trade Practices Act in 2002 for deceiving customers of his log home business. (CBC) "People are on to him [Pearson] and it's only a matter of time that people discover in full force what he is doing."
When contacted by CBC News, Pearson said he was too busy to do an interview in person.
However, he said in an email the discrepancies on his website were just mistakes, saying Google and Best Western should have been listed as "preferred companies" instead of sponsors. The contest's website has since been changed.
The tour bus sponsor was also listed in error, said Pearson, who now claims that a late-model motorhome without licence plates sitting in his backyard is the vehicle he'll use for the country-wide talent search.
The First Nations Idol website asks for an audition fee. (CBC) Pearson said "not one penny" had been received from anyone looking to audition, adding his personal business was putting up the prize money.
Pearson says he has successfully conducted 54 trade shows across Canada and the U.S. over the past 30 years, saying the fraud charges in Alberta were the result of a difficult economy.
Pearson went on to say he expected to book auditions in 140 First Nations communities across Canada and has the support of several First Nations-owned radio stations.
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