Lisa Marie Reagle started her Tulsa Model and Talent Association business in 2004. She takes clients to the Modeling Association of America (MAAI) convention in NY. This company is not registered with the Secretary of State of Oklahoma or the City of Tulsa.
Lisa Reagle signed a contract with us in October allowing her 15% commission on any wages my daughter made in modeling and talent. She would never remember to give us a copy of the original contract after signature. We did however have a copy of the contract with Lisa's signature, but not ours. After my daughter acquired a modeling job, Ms. Reagle actually took over 30% of my daughter's wages and lied about how much my daughter got paid. We received a copy of the original check my daughter was paid with from the company who hired her and that gave us proof of what she actually made. Lisa also used me as a model for a job with my daughter, then refused to pay me expenses that she owed me.
In Lisa Reagle hired my daughter to be a model and talent scout for her with a written agreement. She also hired me to be a scout and director for her company, and put this in writing too. My daughter planned and arranged a successful audition for Ms. Reagle and recruited 4 people to Lisa Reagle's company according to the agreement, but Ms. Reagle refused to pay the commissions. My daughter & I also helped train most of her clients for the next MAAI convention. Ms. Reagle would call us and tell us how much her clients liked the way we taught them, comparing us to other trainers she used. Ms. Reagle claimed to be a Christian and regularly called us her best friends and "loved us like family".
Lisa Reagle tried to send my daughter to a manager in LA. This woman said she would showcase my daughter and make a demo for $14,000.00. After investigation, I discovered that this woman was a convicted felon in California for numerous violations in the talent industry (see Francesca Tomei, Visionaire, Michael S. Douglas, Glamour Models, Francesca DeTolomei). Ms. Reagle still tried to convince me that she thought the woman would be ok to do business with. We said no.
After discovering that Lisa Reagle secretly hired a Vice President, Debbie McMahan, and lied about practices being cancelled when they weren't, and refused to pay wages, we decided to sever ties and fired her.
We finally had to sue her to get our money. She never showed up for court. Her attorney represented her after the 2nd missed court date. He presented the judge with a contract that was NOT the contract I signed. It was a scanned document with totally different wording than my original contract and my signature and date were "cut and pasted" into the document. He also had a "predated" document with different wording for the scouting agreement with my daughter that we had never seen.
Her Vice President got on the witness stand and admitted to helping Ms. Reagle "rearrange" my paycheck summary (which included changing my original wage from $8.00/hr to $6.25/hr) to claim my expenses had already been paid in my original paycheck. The judge did not fall for this. Ms. McMahan also testified on the witness stand that taking more than the 15% commission in the contract was common practice in the modeling business, claiming that she had worked with a NY modeling agent/manager and had learned this from her. (I might add here that the check summary we were paid from did NOT reflect a seperate commission for Ms. Reagle and the company representative also told me herself that they had NOT paid Ms. Reagle anything above the models wages and expenses.
Although our judge knew nothing about the modeling business in Oklahoma, he did see through some of the lies. We won part of the suit and the court costs. The Oklahoma Labor department couldn't help us get some of the wages because they consider modeling to be professional, and it does not fall under their jurisdiction.
Lisa Reagle has refused to date to pay the judgment.
Lisa Reagle and Debbie McMahan have posted considerable slander against my daughter and me on this website under a different agent Lisa Reagle sent my daughter to in NY who also owes us money and refuses to pay.
Lisa Reagle slandered us and spread gossip between clients and associates who were friends causing strife between us. Most of us have learned the truth and have thankfully mended our friendships now.
Lisa Reagle slandered us to her new clients also, and we have received hateful emails from some of them boasting Ms. Reagle's lies about us and calling our actions stupid.
Lisa Reagle has an unsatisfactory record with the Tulsa Better Business Bureau.
Lisa Reagle has 3 lawsuits against her. One settled SC-17365, one pending CS-3241, and ours SC-18603 that we won.
Our attorney has written Lisa Reagle, warning her of further legal proceedings for slander, libel, and childish behavior. Our attorney demanded that she and Debbie McMahan retract their slander and apologize, but they have not.
Several of us (Ms. Reagle's past clients) have contacted MAAI and informed them of Ms. Reagle's business practices, asking for their help or acknowledgment of wrongdoing. To this date, none of us have received any response.
If you are tempted to do business with Ms. Reagle, please have an attorney read your contract before you sign it. The last contract she had us sign was worded in such a way that you are not even allowed to contact the companies that hire you. (Great protection for the agent, huh?) It also stated that if you sue Tulsa Model and Talent and lose, you will be liable for all court costs, expenses and etc.
My daughter is doing very well now, finally signed with a reputable agent and making a lot more money.
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