My daughter, who is 17, was approached by an employee of this studio approximately 2 months ago. He kept "accidently" dropping his business cards in front of her, which stated he represented a Modeling/Talent Agency. He asked my daughter to come in to the studio for an "audition". She told me about this at the time. When she went in, they promised her modeling work if she would get her photos done with them. She ended up giving them $200.00 of her hard-earned money before she left, for a "ZED" card photo shoot. They told her they would carry 1/2 the fee for these cards and all she would have to pay was $600.00 total.: O
When I researched this "talent/modeling agency" a bit further, I found out they were NOT licensed to do business in California as such. This website, which is the California State Government licensing database for talent agencies, proves they are not:
http://www.dir.ca. Gov/databases/dlselr/Talag.html
I contacted the studio, initially, approximately one month ago, after my daughter had tried numerous times to get her money refunded. I spoke to an employee who told me they had 3 business licenses, but none of them were for California. He couldn't tell me what state they were for or the names of the businesses on them as, he said, they were "covered in glass in a picture frame on the wall". I asked to speak to the owner of the studio, and he told me the owner would be in the next day.
I called the next day and spoke to Shawn Anthony. I told him my daughter was a minor, that they were NOT licensed as a talent agency, but had presented themselves to my daughter in this manner, and that they had taken my daughter's money under false pretenses. He said they were affiliated with Ford Models (this turned out to be another lie), and that he would refund my daughter's money if I FAXed him a letter stating why she should have a refund.
I FAXed him his requested letter. This was over a week ago. I have heard nothing from him or his studio since then. I intend to involve my attorney at this point as I am left with no further options. I reported him to the website, "Easy Background Check" as they already had him in their database as a fraudulent talent/modeling agency. They haven't been able to help me so far though.
Right now I am SO frustrated with these people. My daughter is scrimping and saving her money to move out on her own soon, and they just took it away from her with empty promises and lies. These people, in my opinion, are just plain predators. They seem to make the bulk of their money on the backs of young girls who are aspiring to become models or actors. I want everyone to know about this studio so THEIR children don't become victim to these people.
Here is the link to Easy Background Check's website:
Http://www.easybackgroundcheck.com
They maintain a database of fraudulent modeling and talent agencies. Check there first if you're considering modeling or acting agents. Make sure the person you're considering isn't on that list.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this.
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