Ontario man behind alleged holiday race fraud scheme

As our sport continues to grow, more and more races and events are popping up across Canada. But do runners really know what they are signing up for?

A Canadian Running investigation found a Mississauga, Ont. man has capitalized on the surge by allegedly creating a network of fake road races estimated to have cost runners tens of thousands of dollars over the last two years.

Lev Mokhosov is believed to have operated a fraud scheme by posting counterfeit road races for charity on Eventbrite, a free event-hosting service, under at least six different aliases. No criminal charges have been filed.

The race that never existed

Last week, Canadian Running learned of the case from a local runner who said she had registered for the Remembrance Day Race on Nov. 9,  an event that never took place. Julianne Godard said she and around 30 others showed up to the start line in Toronto’s Humber Bay area, only to find no start line, no volunteers and no race infrastructure.

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Godard says she paid around $30. Because the Eventbrite listing stated “no refunds,” she could not request her money back, leaving another $900 collected (from other participants) up in the air for a race that never happened.

She received an email from an alias, James (Corrigan), which stated that an “unexpected snowfall” was the reason behind the cancellation and that the donation to the Legion was pending Eventbrite’s payout release. According to Eventbrite’s website, registration funds are sent to the event organizer’s bank account three days after an event ends.

In a YouTube video, Mokhosov had shown a $1,000 cheque made out to the Royal Canadian Legion from his 2024 race. The Royal Canadian Legion confirmed it had never received any donation from Mokhosov.

A Reddit thread revealed another anonymous participant from the Remembrance Day Race, who said she had hoped to run in honour of her grandfather, who died in WWII. “I saw the photos and the results online and assumed this was a real race,” she said. “I’ll admit, I questioned it when I didn’t get a ‘your race is tomorrow’ email.”

A series of unfortunate events

The Remembrance Day Race was not the only event where Mokhosov deceived participants. Godard’s comments echoed those of another Toronto runner, Eoin Taggart, who had signed up for the Canada Day Road Race four months earlier. The July 1 event, which was advertised as a fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society, was cancelled 24 hours before the start, blaming “ongoing construction” at Toronto’s Tommy Thompson Park and a potential heat warning from Environment Canada.

Canadian Running reached out to Mokhosov by phone to ask why the event did not take place. Mokhosov responded that it was moved to Aug. 10 in Mississauga (30 kilometres from the original spot) and claimed 500 of 531 registrants attended.

Taggart said he had received no communication about the rescheduling of the event, nor about receiving a refund. Taggart and nearly a dozen of his friends said they had paid $50. Strava segments near the supposed rescheduled Mississauga Valley Community Centre start line, listed on the race website, showed no evidence of race activity. If Mokhosov’s attendance numbers were accurate, the event would have generated roughly $15,000 for a race that did not exist. By the time of publication, the Canadian Cancer Society had not confirmed whether it had received a donation.

The scale of Mokhosov’s scheme is significant. We can confirm 250 known participants signed up for two of his 10 events: the 2025 St. Patrick’s Day Run and the 2025 Victoria Day Road Race, totalling an estimated $10,000 in race fees. Mokhosov also claimed he had raised and donated $3,000 to the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and $1,000 to the Mississauga Food Bank from these two events, but both organizations confirmed that they had not received any donations.

A pattern of complaints

The pattern across Mokhosov’s race listing was consistent. His events were all holiday-themed runs, such as St. Patrick’s Day, Victoria Day, Canada Day and Remembrance Day, typically hosted in public parks or trails in Toronto or Mississauga. Registration was hosted on Eventbrite, and all races claimed to donate proceeds to charity. Packet pickup was offered only on race morning, and promotional photos were lifted from legitimate events in Vancouver, Ottawa and Dublin, Ireland.

Canadian Running has made numerous attempts to contact Eventbrite to request the total number of participants, but the request was denied. The platform, which charges no fee to list events, has paid out thousands of dollars to Mokhosov despite ongoing complaints from runners and a clear pattern of fraudulent activity. Eventbrite says they are actively investigating these allegations.

Following several complaints about multiple fake events in 2024, Canadian race platform hosting service Race Roster says it took immediate action, blocking Mokhosov’s IP address. “Once concerns were raised about events organized by Lev Mokhosov, Race Roster halted further registrations and refunded all affected participants. We remain committed to protecting the integrity of our platform and the running community,” a company spokesperson said.

The total amount of money Mokhosov has made from this alleged road race scheme remains unknown, though in Ontario, any fraud exceeding $5,000 is considered an indictable offence.

In an email, Mokhosov defended himself, saying his events have brought together hundreds of participants and raised thousands for charities. “This has given me a strong understanding of what runners and race directors need,” he wrote.

In 2023, Mohkosov received the Civic Award of Recognition from former Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie, an honour that celebrates residents and community groups who contribute to improving the city.

Mokhosov relied on AI, recycled race images and charity logos to sell his scheme. For runners, the takeaway from this case is clear: always vet events before signing up. Eventbrite’s free listing model lowers barriers for event organizers, but it also leaves the platform open to abuse. Be sure to scan the Internet for past results, check for previous Strava activities on the race course, and read reviews to find out if your registration supports the right cause.

When we realized the extent of the fraud, we reached out to Mokhosov for a comment on the allegations. Mokhosov denied that the races were fake and said he had tax receipts to prove he had made the charity donations in question. He sent us a tax receipt for $270 and change for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation and stated that none of his other 2025 races produced profits to benefit charity.