emodel.com / Options Talent Group Model Scouts - Complaints

Have you heard of the new modeling scam company called Emodel? It's a company where they hire individuals such as myself to become a "modeling scout."

This company is spreading throughout the nation like wild fire. No city or town is safe from this scam.

I want them to be exposed for the frauds that they are.

They have the nerve to post ads in Monster.com and HotJobs as if they were a real employment company.

Then they make you go through a week of training at some remote location which is supposed to be hush hush.

During your week of training, you will be taught how to scout models with the right look, in addition to locations and events that will be the most profitable to you.

Yes, I said profitable because E-model makes their money by having you (the scout) actually scout for people (models); then have them come in for an open call.

If they (Emodel) are interested in them and if they (clients) have $500 to shell out, then they can have their picture posted on a website, where they (Emodel) claim:

We have access to over 6,000 agencies and clients. We're approved by the BBB, (not in Orlando, the corporate office, at least, and in some states they are not registered), and we have over 30 supermodels showcased on our website like Cindy Crawford, Elle MacPherson, Naomi Campbell, Tyra Banks, and so forth. We also have agencies like Click, Ford, Elite, just to name a few, who are affiliated with us.

Elite and Ford have stated in newspaper articles that they are not affiliated with them (that can’t be legal).

That all sounds like a load of bull, right? But when you attend the presentations, everything looks legit.

I don't know how true it is about the supermodels, although they show (supermodels) pictures on their promotional video. I know it's against copyright laws to produce someone's picture without their consent.

The concept that sold me, and I would like to know if it’s true, is the fact that they said supermodel Kim Alexis (they have her picture as the main picture on the website) is sitting on the Board of Directors.

But it's not the models that I'm totally concerned about, it’s the actual scouts like myself who worked long hours scouting these models and not getting paid like we were promised.

Why make us fill out paperwork, tax forms, (Independent Contractor), told we would be paid after two weeks of working, (my class in three weeks, because we started during a holiday week)... if that was not going to be the case?

I've scouted over 400 men and women for emodel, and about 40 to 50 out of my models actually showed up at the open calls.

I've received calls from them saying they've enrolled in the program, yet all I've received from them was a lousy $75 bucks.

They tell you not to be in contact with them, because it’s not professional.

Well, I have the names, and most of the numbers of the models I recruited.

In the first week, you were to receive $50 for each model that enrolled, and $25 thereafter, yet I would attend the open calls, see my models, and many would tell me they were enrolling, yet I never received my money.

Another problem many of us had with them (trust me, I have several) is the fact they are always relocating and not answering their phones.

Before we signed on, they told us we could work from any office. But after a week we were told two of the offices were closed (Downtown Chicago and Oakbrook), and we had to meet at the office in the remote suburban area (Rolling Meadows).

Then we were told that the Rolling Meadows office would be closing in a few weeks, and we would be at a new location.

Yet when we asked where the new location would be, we were told that they could not disclose that information to us.

But keep in mind we are supposed to be their so-called employees, right? You would think, 'Hmmm, my workers should be informed of our new location.' Wrong!

Why would they do that? They knew we would stay for too long, cause who actually works for free?

To wrap this up, I'm just going to say they have deceitful practices of keeping you in the dark, such as their website, which is never updated, yet they tell you to go to it to keep track of how many of your models attended and enrolled.

I still have my access code if you want to check out the website, and see how they have not updated it since June 25, 2001.

They tell the models they have to pay the $495 (varies from state to state… at one time Emodel had their scouts pay $395 to scout for models, and it was returned to you if you found 10 models who would enroll in their program) for their pictures to be posted on their website and for the maintenance of the website.

Yet their website hasn’t been updated since June, and we are currently going into the month of November.

I always had questions yet I was constantly being ping-ponged. Never mind being able to talk with a physical person, and the fact the number is often changed.

When you asked the talent executives about how you're doing, they tell you to go to the website or call the corporate office.

When you do that, they tell you to ask the talent executives. So you're given the run-around, which isn't surprising.

One suspicious act was committed towards the models -- and I only found this out after three weeks of doing this (I did it for a whole month) -- and I would have never done this had I known this practice was being done.

The talent executives would tell the models and their parents (for models under 17) that they had to make an appointment the next day, and would have to put half down.

That’s not what they told us during training week. Steve Kaufman told us personally that the parents and models would work out a payment plan with their banks, and they could pay as little as $20/month to get started, but their picture wouldn’t be posted until they paid in full.

It was only after walking in on an exec telling a girl she had to come up with $245 by tomorrow that it caught my attention.

She then told the girl: "If you don’t pay, then you will lose your spot, and have to do it next year."

When I questioned the exec about what Steve told us, she said, “Duh! How would we get our money if we had to wait forever for people to give us our money? You won’t get paid till they pay.”

Well, they’ve paid, and I’m still waiting!

I was baffled. It was bad enough they were so unprofessional.

They would also have the models wait forever, saying it made them (models) want it more.

They had us jumping and saying, “Congratulations!” every time models walked through our doors.

How corny. Everything was scripted, such as what we were supposed to say to them when we scouted them. (I still have the script if you want a good laugh.)

I also have the paperwork they had us fill out. They had us say it was free, and if they weren’t interested, then we were supposed to tell them, “Oh well, modeling isn’t right for everyone.”

Then the models would be begging to come to our open calls (the open calls were on Tues. and Thurs. at 7 pm, and Sat at 10 am).

They did not under any circumstances want us to beg for models. When we scouted the models, if it were Monday, we had to tell them they had to come on Tues.

If they said they were busy, then we were supposed to take the card from them, and then they would say, “Okay, I can rearrange my schedule."

I could tell you how to look for them under Monster.com, because they constantly change their names and my password.

The funniest thing on their website is how when you read the comments about the scouts, it's all positive, and I found out that the comments were fake.

How do I know? Because when I wrote a positive and a negative message, neither one was posted. This alone could be all the proof you need.

I personally would like to express my deepest apologies to all of the poor models I’ve scouted that took the time to take part in a scam like the Emodel scam, unbeknownst to them.

ex-emodel.com model scout