Modeling Scams News
By Michelle Mauch
KRIS-TV Corpus Christi
February 26, 2003
"Trans Continental Talent Agency claims it is the
#1 talent scouting company in the world but a local family
disagrees. A local fourteen-year-old and her family were
out shopping over the weekend, when they were approached
by a talent scout. The company promised to put the teen's
picture on the internet, but it wouldn't be cheap. For
more than $1,000, Trans Continental Talent promises to
make your face famous. A local teen and her grandmother
nearly took the company up on its offer. Model Jasmine
Bella, says, "We were so convinced; we were going
to do it. We were going to pay $795 and $19.95 per month.
We were convinced and then we started doing research
and found out it was a big scam." Her grandmother,
Darlyn Bellah, felt the same way, "I was convinced
when we left the other day, and, yes, I was convinced
I was going to do it, and my daughter-in-law said, 'How
are we gonna check this company out?'" An internet
search turned up more information about the company than
they imagined. Todd Bellah, Jasmine's father, says, "The
more I looked, the more I didn't like the move. I thought
there was something going on with investigative reports
from Detroit and Atlanta."
By Tim Arango
NY Post
February 26, 2003
"Pearlman, the music impresario known for discovering
the pop bands N*SYNC and Backstreet Boys, is in hot water
over allegations that his talent agency, TransContinental
Talent, told thousands of aspiring models and actors
it would help them find work, and then simply posted
their photos in its database. Numerous former employees
and clients have come forward with complaints in recent
months, triggering investigations in California, Massachusetts
and Florida. Pearlman is the chairman of Trans Continental.
Meanwhile, the Orlando, Fla.-based company has raised
eyebrows by continuing to work with at least two men
who have spent time in prison on fraud charges, according
to sources and SEC filings."
KCTV 5 Kansas City
February 24, 2003
"What could be more flattering than being asked —by
a complete stranger —"Have you ever considered
modeling?" That's what people all over the metro
are hearing since Trans Continental Talent opened up
here in December. But KCTV5 Investigative Reporter Steve
Chamraz has the not so glamorous details about this worldwide
talent company."
"We continue our KCTV5 investigation with the story
of a TCT employee so disgusted with the company, she
quit. She came to KCTV5 and handed over "Talent
Scout" training manuals. According to TCT's guidelines,
almost anyone is model material, as long as they're willing
to pay."
"Since KCTV5 exposed the questionable business
tactics of an Overland Park talent company, people have
been coming out of the woodwork with complaints. KCTV5
Investigative reporter Steve Chamraz has a follow up
to a story you saw only on 5."
"Since KCTV5 exposed the questionable business
tactics of an Overland Park talent company, more people
have been coming forward claming to be victims of TCT's
sales pitch. KCTV5 Investigative reporter Steve Chamraz
has information on how you can file a complaint and get
results."
KRON-4 San Francisco
February 18, 2003
"What was once E-models, then Options Talent, is
now Transcontinental Talent... A company that claims
to be the largest model scouting firm in the world is
under scrutiny by the San Francisco District Attorney's
office... The company is not only being examined here.
Two other states are also now investigating complaints....
TC Talent scouted Ericka Wingerter, a KRON 4 employee,
in the locker room of her gym. We went with her to an
open call in San Francisco.... By law, talent agencies
can't collect upfront fees. TC Talent gets around that
by claiming it's not an agency, it's a scouting company.
Last year the state labor commission didn't
act on our concerns, but now?
Dean Fryer of the SF Labor Commission says, "They're
acting as a talent agency, pure and simple. They are
in violation of the state labor code and anyone who
pays a fee to procure work for them, they are entitled
to that fee back."
K-CAL 9 Los Angeles
February 18, 2003
"It's an invitation to the glamorous, fast-paced
world of modeling and acting... Trans Continental Talent.
On the Internet, billed as the world's largest entertainment
scouting company, with success stories plastered on the
main page —a place where your picture can allegedly
be seen by a thousand modeling agencies worldwide. These
are the agencies allegedly searching for that new look —but
some Trans Continental clients say look out!"
Embattled modeling agency owner must pay restitution
ABC Action News
February 16, 2003
"After months of investigations touched off by
an ABC Action News report, the state Department
of Business and Professional Regulation has
found Model 2000 guilty of fraud and deception. A judge
has ordered the state to revoke owner Nancy Sniffen's
license to operate as a modeling agent. She will also
have to pay $11,000 in fines, and, most importantly to
her former clients, she is ordered to pay back a total
of almost $7,000 in restitution to 11 victims."
By Jon Steinman
Orlando Sentinel
February 15, 2003
"A
state attorney general's investigation into one
of Lou Pearlman's business interests might create problems
for the music impresario when he goes before the City
Council on Monday in hopes of winning millions of dollars
in incentives to redevelop downtown's Church Street
Station. The state is investigating whether Trans Continental
Talent Inc. duped hundreds of wannabe models and actors
into paying as much as $1,500 for a spot on the company's
Web site. Clients have complained that they were led
to believe the company would help them find work rather
than simply post their pictures online."
By Jill Krueger
Orlando Business Journal
February 14, 2003
"Here's how Trans Continental Talent works: The
company sends out independent contractors to look for
potential customers for its modeling and acting database
services. Potential customers are invited to an open
call and to visit the company's local office, then another
appointment is made to seal the deal. "They are
being made to feel like they were selected and if they
don't do it now they won't have an opportunity to do
it again for another year," Judy Pepper, a spokeswoman
for the Better Business Bureau.... Meanwhile, dissatisfied
customers have filed more than 350 complaints with the
Florida Attorney General's Office. Specific complaints
include violations of the customer's right in Florida
to cancel the contract within three days, misrepresentations,
deceptive advertising, and unfair and deceptive trade
practices, says Jackie Dowd, assistant attorney general
of the Orlando economic crimes division."
I Am Not A Model 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
By Katy McColl
Jane Magazine
March 2003
TransContinental Talent
By Barbara Rodgers
KPIX/KCBS-San Francisco
February 14, 2003
"But what about his scouts? Do they really have
a trained eye for talent? A 5 Investigates producer applied
for a job to find out. Despite not having a resume as
required, she was hired the very next day. After a few
hours in the classroom, her training moves to the street,
where veterans show the novices how to scout. In our
case, the veteran was San Francisco Office Director Mark
Pfeiler, and our hidden camera caught him working
the streets. "My name is Mark," he told one
recruit. "I'm looking for models and actors. Have
you ever thought of doing anything in the industry?" Our
camera caught another scout who had been on the job for
a week. "There's a good chance of getting work right
now," the scout said. "I had one that signed
on; three days later, he was interviewing to go to Singapore.
There's 283 agencies here in the city so there's a lot
going on here, too." News of those 283 agencies
was new to the labor board, which licenses talent agencies
in San Francisco. The board says there are actually only
17."
By Barbara Rodgers
KPIX/KCBS-San Francisco
February 13, 2003
"For people who want to be a model, being discovered
is the stuff that dreams are made of. For Katherine Johnson,
it happened while shopping. She was approached by a scout
for Transcontinental Talent, who said they were looking
for all ages, and invited her to an open call. "I
was like, 'Great, someone discovered me,'" she said.
Johnson went to an open call, and so did we, along with
our hidden cameras. We're told the chances of
getting work are good. "Eighty six percent of our
models have actually received jobs, or have been signed
by agencies," San Francisco office directors Mark
Pfeiler told us. And the pay is great. "They said
anywhere between $300 to $500 an hour," Pfeiler
said. "For runway, anywhere from $500 to $700 an
hour."
News 5 i-Team
February 7, 2003
"Melanie scouted for E-Model which changed its
name to Options Talent and again to TransContinental
Talent all within a year. Based in Orlando, Florida,
TransContinental touts itself as the largest model scouting
company in the world.... We went undercover to learn
what happens inside. Our 5-i team producer applied for
a job as a scout with no experience in the fashion industry. TCT
immediately hired him."
Fox News-Atlanta
November 14, 2002
"Even though Trans Continental Talent says it now
offers a 72-hour refund policy, the Orlando Better Business
Bureau says the new company has the same unsatisfactory
record as the old one because of "a pattern of complaints
concerning misrepresentation in recruiting practices
and misrepresentation of the modeling agencies who use
their services."... after the second day of shooting,
Doberman decided to fight back. He says he made copies
of the Better
Business Bureau report on TCT and took them to a
TCT open call in Atlanta. "I walked straight up
to the front of the room and start passing them out to
people and I made an announcement," he said. "This
is scam! Leave as fast as you can!""
CBS 58 News-Milwaukee
November 20, 2002
"Carole Kozminski didn't seriously think of modeling
as an option for her girls before the scout for Trans
Continental Talent approached her. But the offer
peaked her curiosity. So she took her four-year-old daughter
Carly to the first session. There were two gentlemen
taking digital pictures; they shot head shots and full
body shots. The first meeting still didn't answer all
her questions, so she went back at our request, this
time with a camera rolling."
NBC WDIV-Detroit
November 15, 2002
"Hidden cameras exposed the conniving side of the
catwalk inside Transcontinental Talent's Ferndale
office, Ruth Spencer reported. Local 4's undercover producer
and dozens of other model-wannabes attended a model open
call after being selected by a TCT talent scout....Ruth
to the Rescue put TCT's recruiting practices to the test.
The undercover producer filled out a TCT scout application
online. Within hours, he received a letter from the TCT
telling him that he would be a tremendous asset to the
company. He has never scouted or worked in the entertainment
business, but that doesn't bother TCT, the station reported.
A Local 4 photographer and a volunteer also signed on,
and received the same letter.... Ruth also signed
up her 10-year-old dog, Lochie Spencer, who also received
the same e-mail."
By Shelly Sindland
FOX61 WTIC-TV
November 6, 2002
"Former talent scouts looking for models claim
they weren't selling a dream, they claim they we're hired
to sell a scam! Thomas Edward Seymour is a former talent
scout for Options and says that "open calls" are
a trip to fantasy land. “I would call it fraud.
But you could call it a scam or a rip off," said
Seymour, “the reason that they are open is their
dishonesty. That's the only way they can function." “They
train you how to be deceptive," said Keith
Walkley, another former Options Talent scout."
By David J. Plotkin
Orlando Weekly
October 17, 2002
"Pearlman's oddest move came in early September,
when Trans Continental purchased the controversial model-scouting
firm, Options Talent Inc. That company has gone by three
names in two years: Studio 58, eModel and Options Talent.
The first was a test company of sorts, while the second
and third shared virtually the same staff. Each incarnation
carried with it scores of unhappy clients who
felt they were ripped off, and bad blood from
other talent agencies that thought Studio 58/eModel/Options
Talent preyed on model and actor wannabes who don't know
how the industry works. Today, Options Talent is
called Trans Continental Talent. Aside from the
name change, it's largely the same company it ever
was..."
By Lael Morgan
Casco Bay Weekly (Cover story)
September 5, 2002
"The 10-year-old girl heard about the Starz
National Models and Talent.... led by Jeff Helms,
president of Starz National, a Boca Raton company,
who talked about all the well-known agencies and companies
for which Starz provided models. Helms said these companies,
including L.L. Bean .... (An L.L. Bean spokesperson
could not recall dealing with Starz.)... an audition
held in Portland by Face National Models and Talent of
Charlotte, N.C., and when she was selected for signing,
she decided to have photographs taken by the company’s
photographer for $500. “It was like a big cattle
call.” Neither Options Talent nor Face was
able to provide any local success stories or answer
questions about complaints to Casco Bay Weekly. Unsuccessful
in locating a representative from Starz, CBW discovered
that a Florida Better Business Bureau found the agency’s
Boca Raton phone number to be non-working."
CBC News
August 30, 2002
"Students, especially those who are away from home
for the first time, can be bombarded with offers of modelling
or acting contracts.... To help students, Hudak's office
has released a list of the top five scams involving students:
1. Modelling contracts: young people are often targeted
by unscrupulous agency representatives offering lines
such as, 'You've got a beautiful face. Have you ever
considered modelling?' "
By Connie Thompson
KOMO-4 Bellevue/Seattle
August 13, 2002
"Imagine a talent scout walking up and inviting
you to an "open call" for models. It's happening
for hundreds of local wannabes who dream of being discovered.
But who are these talent scouts? We looked into one new
scouting company in Bellevue called "Options Talent." The
scouts just started recruiting, and they're getting people
very excited —especially teenage girls."
By Sandeep Kaushik
The Stranger/Seattle
August 8, 2002
"As 25-year-old Asian American "John" (he's
too embarrassed to use his real name) lolled in Green
Lake Park, a well-dressed stranger approached and said
that John had a great look. The smooth talker was a scout
for Options Talent, "the largest model-scouting
company in the world," newly operating in Seattle.
There was an open call coming up; John should go. "It
was very flattering," John says, so he went. When
he arrived, the talent brokers complimented him profusely.
His ethnicity was an added bonus: "The Asian look
is very hot right now." At the meeting, they admitted
Options wasn't a modeling agency. Still, "They told
me they scouted for Elite and Ford [modeling agencies],
and dropped other big names."
By Becky Thompson
WPXI-TV News
July 11, 2002
"A company new to the Pittsburgh area that posts
pictures of potential models on the web has opened its
doors. But consumer investigator Becky Thompson has uncovered
questions about how it recruits its talent."
By Todd Ulrich
EyeWitness News
Action 9 WFTV
"She says emodel's sales team is managed by Ralph
Bell. Our Action 9 investigation revealed he's a man
with a past that includes a
modeling rip-off in another state.... Our Action
9 investigation uncovered a charge against Bell by the
Federal Trade Commission three years ago. The commission
charged that Bell
used deceptive tactics to sign up models in Virginia
and he was banned from
using casting calls to sell products. Our investigation
uncovered Bell wasn't the only one with a past..."
By Randy Travis
Fox 5 NEWS
May 13, 2002
"An IMG spokesperson told us they've never booked
an Options model. Neither has Elite-Atlanta. A Wilhelmina
official told us they've signed two Options models. That's
two out of 33,000 on their site. Ford Model Management
hasn't signed any Options talent to contracts."
KRON
May 2002
"Contact 4 investigated Options' alleged connections,
and found most didn't pan out. Don Johnson has nothing
to do with the company, that from his agent who says
he's asked Options to stop using Johnson's name. Max
Azria of BCBG? He too says he never authorized the use
of his name. And we found more. J.R. Larsen is indeed
a super model for Ford, the top modeling agency in the
country, but Ford president Katie Ford told us they didn't
use Options to find J.R. In fact, they've never used
Options Talent. And the Elite Agency, shown in an Options
Talent Group brochure as praising the company, denies
any link to Options, telling us they're upset by the
use of their name."
By Tamar Wilner
Metro Pulse
January 15, 2002
"The BBB says agencies should not require use of
a specific photographer, although they may strongly recommend
one.... OTM [On Track Modeling] receives money from
its recommended photographer, raising questions of motivation....
big-name agencies like Elite and Ford receive all their
money from commissions and none from photographers. The
BBB report for OTM lists 37 complaints in the past three
years, 16 of them in the last year... the sheer presence
of so much discontent might raise a wary consumer's eyebrows.
And customer dissatisfaction with OTM continues. UT
student Jeff Miller says he signed up with OTM almost
a year ago. He spent $400 for pictures from the agency's
recommended photographer and $300 for composition cards.
He says the company's Strawberry Plains affiliate took
about five months to deliver his comp cards, and he
has not heard from the agency since. Miller wonders
whether the company ever intended to find him jobs, or
just to take his money."
By Todd Ulrich
EyeWitness News 9
May 9, 2002
"There's a new modeling company in Central Florida
that could be approaching you about making you or your
child a very rich model. But first they want you to spend
hundreds of dollars. Our Action 9 investigation uncovers
this modeling company is related to one we've warned
you about before."
NBC 13
August 29, 2002
"A local talent scout was arrested Thursday and
charged with sexual abuse by force.... Several clients
told NBC13 they had also been subject to abuse by Harris
and they had witnessed several instances of inappropriate
contact. "It's just not necessary in this business
for people to touch," said Jennifer Rankin, a former
talent scout."
NBC 13
August 30, 2002
"Former employees say they were sexually harassed
and saw their boss inappropriately touch clients during
interviews.... Harris was arrested Thursday after an
18-year-old filed charges alleging Harris touched her
inappropriately."
CBS 42
August 2002
"[Talent agent Cathi] Larsen say any physical contact
should [have] sent up a red flag. “No touching
should be involved ever, except shaking hands or measurements.
If it’s a girl, a woman should do that,” said
Larsen."
By Brandi Davis
WECT
May 9, 2002
"Some local would-be models will finally get their
money back after weeks of protests.... The scouts ask
for $496, and promise young models their picture will
be posted on an agency web page. But some teenagers say
the company doesn't follow-up and is hard to reach. Now
Options has told them they will get their money back."
ABC News 6
May 6, 2002
"One of the companies mentioned – Elite Models
in New York City – says it is not working with
Options Talent and it's asked Options Talent to stop
mentioning its name in any way, shape or form. We also
checked with [a] leading local modeling firm. Virginia
Doyle of the Reinhard Agency [said]: "As an agency,
we certainly wouldn't look at a web site looking for
models."
By Bobby Sisk
NBC 6 News
April 30, 2002
"When Charlotte's Model Select International suddenly
shut down earlier this year, the North Carolina Attorney
General launched an investigation and the BBB started
alerting customers. A number of modeling agencies remain
in Charlotte and some are more up front with clients
than others. Two women, Brigitte Rogers and Samantha
Burton, learned an expensive lesson."
By Bobby Sisk
NBC 6 News
April 30, 2002
"For months 6NEWS has been looking into Model Select
International. The Charlotte company shut down and left
hundreds of angry clients behind. A former marketing
manager contacted nbc6.com and wanted to tell her story."
By Arthur O. Murray
Business North Carolina
June 2002
"In late May, the attorney general’s office
filed a complaint in Wake County Superior Court against
Model Select and its co-owners, Rhea Lawson and Richard
Hronik. The complaint says the company, which has gone
out of business, misled applicants and made most of its
money from selling photos."
ABC 28 News
April 29, 2002
"Dozens of angry would-be models claim their agency
ripped them off, and Monday they took their fight to
court. This modeling agency has been in the spotlight
since a 28 Investigates report back in February. Tampa
police, the Department of Professional Regulation and
even the governor's office started investigating. But
one of the victims didn't want to wait for results, so
her family is suing Model 2000."
By Becky Toosya
South Florida Business Journal
April 12, 2002
"Katie Froud, a former model who runs Alba Model
Information, a U.K. hot line and information service
for models, said, "Nearly every caller to our help
line has signed up with Models Direct, and never got
any work." Belinda Masters is one of those who came
to Froud for advice. According to her, upon receiving
the photographs of her son Oliver, then 2 years old,
Models Direct called to say the boy was "lovely" and
offered Masters a contract. She said the company told
her it already had work lined up for him. But after sending
them a check for 80 pounds (about $115), she said she
never heard from them again."
By Tim Grant
St. Petersburg Times
March 26, 2002
(pg. 1.B)
"[Lois] Krebs and about 40 others who bought photographs
at Models 2000 have written affidavits supporting
a Hillsborough County civil lawsuit against its owner,
Nancy Sniffen. And Tampa police say they are conducting
a criminal investigation of the agency."
Tampa Bay News
February 15, 2002
"Many parents and their kids have big dreams of
a career in fashion modeling. However, some claim a Tampa
talent agency is taking money and making false promises
to its customers. Christy West had hopes of going big
time. Gabriella's mother dreamed of seeing her daughter
on TV. Irma Avery wanted to make extra money as a model.
They all got a dose of hope from Nancy Keogh who owns Model
2000. After paying hundreds of dollars, what they
got in return was photographs —none got jobs."
CNN
March 20, 2002
"An undercover journalist bribed a regional beauty
pageant judge, revealing alleged corruption in the Miss
Spain contest. Gema Garcia Marcos, 31, won the Miss Alicante
crown after she offered 27,000 euros ($23,700) to a judge.
The transaction was filmed by hidden camera and shown
in a television documentary this week."
"What these people do is travel across the country,
stay in fancy hotel rooms, advertise, and get a bunch
of people excited, and take their money up front." —Libby
Stone, President of the Professional Modeling Guild of
North Carolina
"An upcoming "audition" by a North Carolina
modeling agency may lead young people or their parents
to unnecessarily spend as much as $600 for photographs,
the Consumer Protection Board ("CPB") warned
today."
"Mother and daughter told KERO 23 News that they
were taken in by Face National Models and Talent, of
North Carolina. The company says parents are not required
to buy the $600 photo shoot the company sells. But most
of the "new" models do, KERO reported."
"Face asks that young people bring 72 different
pictures of themselves or buy a 500 dollar photography
package and sign a contract. Over the past three years
59 people filed complaints against Face with the Better
Business Bureau who gives the company an unsatisfacory
rating."
"We would have to do a photo shoot and all together
it is broken down into three different payments is $596," said
a representative for Face National Models and Talent.
The company owner Jennifer Gill refused an interview
on camera, but says good looks are not crucial in promotional
modeling."
By Tamar Wilner
Metro Pulse
January 15, 2002
"A man who introduced himself as Aaron, the director
of scouting, told those gathered how ProScout came into
being.... The problem is, both Ford and Wilhelmina say
their agencies had nothing to do with ProScout's creation."
By Todd Ulrich
EyeWitness News 9
February 14, 2002
"A local modeling company offering big bucks modeling
careers could be taking local consumers for the ride
of their lives. Action 9's Consumer Investigative Reporter,
Todd Ulrich found this company using glamour and gimmicks
to cheat consumers out of hundreds of dollars."
KSAT 12 News
February 12, 2002
"It all seemed all glitz and glamour," Lopez
said. "They (eModel scouts) mentioned people who'd
had success with it, and kept mentioning Tyra Banks and
Cindy Crawford."
By Sandy Brundage
Surf Metro
February 28, 2002
"Would you give $500 to a stranger who promised
exactly nothing in return? Thousands of people did. And
they got what they were promised."
By Joanne Kimberlin
The Virginia Pilot
March 16, 2002
"It's not the first name change for emodel ...
the company has operated in the past under eFashionshow.com
Inc., Whymodel.com and Whytalent.com."
By Joanne Kimberlin
The Virginia Pilot
January 28, 2002
"Nichole Oaten, 22, of Newport News, was
browsing the paint department at Lowe's when an emodel
scout handed her a business card."
By Joanne Kimberlin
The Virginia Pilot
January 28, 2002
"Investors lost millions when Randell was
caught falsifying financial reports to inflate profits....
In 1975, he pleaded guilty to four related fraud charges....
emodel's Web site... lists Randell as a board member
and credits him with giving the company "strong
guidance."
By Joanne Kimberlin
The Virginia Pilot
January 28, 2002
"When eModel says it works with "Ford," the
company is referring to a Boston-based agency by the
same name, not the fabled, New York-based Ford Models,
which has launched countless high-profile careers."
By Lauren Barack
The New York Post
January 26, 2002
"Both Elite and Ford say they have asked
eModel to remove their names from its Web site. Elite
sent a cease-and-desist letter last May."
emodel
By Jill Farmer
Fox 2 News, KTVI, St. Louis
November 26, 2001
"Sharon Tucci is a little concerned about
emodel, too. She owns St. Louis' most prestigious modeling
firm, Talent Plus. She says some emodel scouts in St.
Louis have claimed they work with Talent Plus.
Sharon Tucci: "We do not. I don't even know who
they are."
By Wyatt Olson
New Times Broward-Palm Beach
September 6, 2001
"We are having problems with them," says
Bill Ford, vice president of Ford Models Inc. in New
York City, one of the most respected agencies in the
nation. "They say they work with us. We do not work
with them. They're not reputable people." Asked
if he saw any value in eModel searchable database, Ford
replies, "They walk up and down the streets with
[scouts] who've never been in the business before. Why
would they know what to look for?"
WLBT NBC News Channel 3
August 27, 2001
"A parent is complaining about the way his
daughter was approached by a new national on-line modeling
agency that recently opened an office in Ridgeland. He
says the sales pitch was great, but the company left
out one major detail until the end."
WICZ TV
"A North Carolina based modeling agency called Face
National Models and Talent is coming to Binghamton
to audition aspiring models and according to the State
Consumer Protection Agency, they get you to spend hundreds
of dollars of pictures they dont need."
By Tim Grant
St. Petersburg Times
November 19, 2000
"Critics also say Paulson is circumventing a state
law that forbids modeling agencies from charging upfront
fees. Modeling agencies are not supposed to charge models
for anything, including photos, seminars or consultation.
An agent's income is supposed to come solely from commissions
it gets by finding work for its models."
By Traci Hukill
Metro Active
December 9, 1999
"Shelly Ashworth, a former client of the San Jose-based
modeling agency John Robert Powers, fought in
court to get a refund of her money and won. Angry former
employees and clients say the local John Robert Powers school
charged high dollars for a promised ticket to
professional modeling and acting careers, but used phony
'talent scouts' and high-pressure sales tactics."
By Matt Wells
The Guardian
June 12, 2001
"The BBC's reputation for authoritative journalism
took a severe knock yesterday when the corporation admitted
that its star undercover reporter, Donal MacIntyre, had
misrepresented the Elite model agency in an exposé of
the fashion industry.... the BBC has been forced to concede
that its portrayal was unfair."
ABC News
November 26, 1999
"Two top officials resigned their posts after a
BBC exposé of the agency. Elite, the agency that
has represented such top models as Cindy Crawford and
Naomi Campbell, said today it had accepted the resignation
of two executives after a broadcast documentary showed
one of them soliciting sex."
By Horacio Silva, with Ben Widdicombe
Chic Happens
November 24, 1999
"And they say teenage models are naïve. In
this week's sex and drugs scandal involving Elite Model
Management —which saw four senior executives being
suspended —the most shocking revelation is the
guilelessness of Gerald Marie, President of the agency's
European division. Marie (who married Linda Evangelista
when she was a teen) propositioned Lisa Brinkworth, a
BBC staffer posing as a model."
By Carl Messineo
The Common Denominator
October 4, 1999
"Modeling scams are big business. While it is true
that some successful models have been discovered in malls
or on the street, the talent scouts are few and far between
that can make a star out of a mall roamer. Many talent
scouts are really just slick salespeople, trying to make
a fast buck out of your aspirations and ego."
FTC
May 28, 1999
"If someone stops you on the street, hands you
a card, and tells you "you've got the look," you
may be on your way to becoming the victim of a modeling
scam.... That was the case with three Washington, D.C.-area
modeling agencies that, the FTC alleged, lured consumers
into making substantial investments in their talent management
services by promising high-paying assignments with well-known
entities in the entertainment and fashion world."
(FTC Seeks to Close Down Fraudulent Model and Talent
Scout Operation)
FTC
May 27, 1999
"Parents should not be fooled by ads that promise
modeling or acting jobs for their children, the Federal
Trade Commission said today as it announced charges against
a bogus model and talent scout operation, Screen Test
U.S.A. In television, radio, Internet and newspaper ads Screen
Test U.S.A. seeks children to appear in t.v. commercials
and magazines. It boasts that it has created more stars
than any other company and that its clients appear in
national advertising campaigns."
FTC
May 26, 1999
"A federal District Court in New Jersey has issued
a permanent injunction against a New Jersey seller of
child-modeling services, at the Federal Trade Commission's
request. National Talent Associates (NTA) and
its president, Jerome P. Ashfield, had been charged by
the FTC with misrepresenting their ability to place children
in high-paying modeling and acting jobs, in violation
of a previous consent order. The court also ordered the
defendants to pay a $160,000 civil penalty."
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