Modeling Scams

emodel.com, Options Talent Group

To Whom It May Concern:

I regrettably joined emodel in November 2001.

Since then I’ve received nothing but emails about open calls and photo submissions to various places; these same postings you can find in the Village Voice, Backstage, Models.net, etc.

I was almost leered into paying $900 to enter the “Spokesmodel Competition on a Cruise” Contest that apparently emodel was a part of.

This type of solicitation on emodel’s behalf is just not fair to us! Emodel is capitalizing on our dreams, and we are losing our hard-earned money!

What can be done? Can emodel participants sue? I am very angry at emodel, and would like action taken so I can at least get my money back.

Thank you,

K.H.

Hi K.H.,

There have been many complaints about emodel.com.

The president of The Models Guild has been contacted to determine if the Attorney General of Florida has been notified to launch an investigation, to find out if there is sufficient evidence to prosecute emodel.com, Inc. for fraud.

Different people think emodel might have found a way to beat the system and avoid prosecution. Maybe they have; maybe they have not; it’s still not clear.

emodel acts like a modeling agency (open calls, database, applicant screening, etc.), but the emodel.com website said they are “the world’s largest modeling scouting firm.”

The website design company which made their website said “eModel.com is the world’s largest talent agency.”

Some might feel emodel is an advertising agency, or an internet advertising agency, because they say they advertise or promote aspiring models online.

Their type of website has been called an internet modeling agency. One definition of a modeling agency is “a business that exists to promote models in exchange for a fee.” And that is what emodel apparently intends to do: promote models in exchange for a fee.

And still others might think they are an employment agency, trying to get aspiring models work.

It really doesn’t matter in the end what emodel calls itself, or what other people call emodel, it is what the legal system calls emodel.

Different laws apply to different industries, but emodel does not fit neatly in any one, complicated in part by the internet, which is still new and significantly unregulated.

The modeling industry itself is not highly regulated, and never has been, which is why many modeling scams have ripped off people in the past, but with that history coupled with the freewheeling internet, it could make it tougher to prosecute talent/modeling/scouting businesses which commit fraud.

The modeling industry in the United States is not regulated by federal law: it is regulated by state or city.

New York City, for example, has the most modeling agencies and the toughest laws.

The NYC Consumer Affairs Guide says: “As the world’s entertainment center, New York City has some of the strongest laws governing the conduct of modeling and talent agencies.”

emodel was set up with its corporate headquarters in Florida, but it has franchises in other states. You’d probably have to check with an attorney, but presumably a lawsuit must be filed either in Florida at the corporate headquarters, or in a specific state against a specific emodel franchise.

There was talk about a possible class-action lawsuit in general and one against the Chicago emodel franchise in particular. It is not clear how far that effort has gone, or if emodel has been indicted.

You asked about getting your money back. This may be possible. Did they offer a money-back guarantee?

Apparently they don’t, as a rule, but one aspiring model in St. Louis managed to get her money back. How easy or difficult it is to do that may depend on the emodel.com franchise and emodel franchise owner.

The generally accepted approach to getting a refund is first dealing with the company. One guide for anyone the victim of a modeling scam says this:

If you have paid money to a modeling/talent agency or company from out of town and believe they are involved in a scam, first contact the company and request a refund.

 

If you are not satisfied, register a complaint with your local consumer protection agency; Better Business Bureau; State Attorney General’s Office; and [State] Department of Licensing and Regulation.

 

Also, contact the advertising manager of the newspaper that ran the ad, the radio station and the hotel that booked the company.

 

For ethical and practical reasons their advertising managers may be interested to learn about any problems you have had with the company.