[July 01, 2011] Modeling agency under fire Tweet Jun 24, 2011 (Charleston Daily Mail - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A local photographer duped aspiring models into posing for photographs that were neither retouched as promised nor delivered to modeling agencies, the state Attorney General's Office contends. A lawsuit filed Thursday in Kanawha Circuit Court against Stephen R. Ross of Scott Depot and his company, WV Modeling Agency, seeks a halt to illegal practices and full refunds for clients who paid for services that weren't delivered. Ross operates his business, which according to court records is not registered with the Secretary of State's office, out of his Kilgore Road home. Ross promised to produce photographs of clients for modeling portfolios and get modeling jobs for them, but he failed to do either, according to Attorney General Darrell McGraw's office. As part of Ross' services, he promised to retouch photos of his clients and to arrange the shots in portfolios for prospective employers who were looking for models. Former clients filed complaints with McGraw's office claiming Ross failed to provide enhanced photos or portfolios as promised, failed to help clients find modeling work, and also promoted, advertised and took payment for entry into a modeling pageant that never took place. "Sadly, an entire industry has developed to fleece those who dream of becoming a model," McGraw said in a press release. "These enterprises prey upon people's hopes while betting on consumers' lack of knowledge about how the modeling industry really works." Katrina Nusbaum, a Charleston resident, found Ross' modeling agency on the Internet in 2009 while searching for a modeling agency to represent her daughter, documents show. She met with Ross at McDonalds at Southridge Centre June 30, 2009, where they discussed his agency's services. Nusbaum signed a contract that day for Ross to represent her daughter, provide training and produce a portfolio and a website. They agreed on a price of $300 for each photo session. Her daughter had three photo sessions with Ross, the first on the University of Charleston's campus, the second at the state Capitol Complex and a third at an undisclosed location. Nusbaum received the storage disk of photos for the first and third sessions only, and none of those photos was enhanced. Ross allegedly told her after repeated questioning that he deleted the photos of the second session, but he offered her a fourth shoot for free in exchange. Jeanie Landers of Hugheston found Ross in the phone book and contacted him to take photos and represent her grandson. She met with Ross in her home Aug. 19, 2009, to discuss a portfolio and marketing for her grandson. Ross used Landers' computer to show her a website he had created for another client. Landers then signed the contract and paid a $300 down payment for Ross to photograph and build a website for her grandson. She gave Ross $400 in September in the form of two money orders. Ross photographed Landers' grandson, but by Jan. 3, 2010, Landers still hadn't received a portfolio or seen a website. She asked Ross for the promised items or her money back. On Jan. 10, Ross posted one picture of Landers' grandson to a website, but the site went offline in May 2010 and currently still is unavailable, according to documents. Ross also suggested several times to both Nusbaum and Landers that they enter the children in a modeling pageant he was promoting, the suit says. The pageant was billed as a model search designed for Ross to find models for Ford Models, MC2 and Icon Models, all of which are well-known agencies in New York. A flier for the event also stated that representatives of those agencies would conduct onsite interviews. Nusbaum and Landers paid the $150 pageant entry fee and an additional $75 to enter the children in the "Most Photogenic" contest to be judged by Ross. Nusbaum wrote a check, as directed, to Ross' wife, Violet Ross, while Landers paid by money order. The pageant was to be held Oct. 24, 2009, at the Ramada Inn in South Charleston. But two days before the event, Ross allegedly emailed Nusbaum and Landers to inform them the pageant was rescheduled for Dec. 6. They arrived at the South Charleston hotel on that date only to be told by workers that the pageant was canceled. Both women confronted Ross numerous times by phone and email but claim he has yet to refund their money for the pageants or the services he promised. The investigation into Ross' business practices by the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division showed other clients had similar experiences. Anyone wishing to file a complaint in the matter may contact the Attorney General's consumer protection hotline at 1-800-368-8808 or visit www.wvago.gov. Contact writer Ashley B. Craig at [email protected] or 304-348-4850. To see more of the Charleston Daily Mail, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.dailymail.com/. Copyright (c) 2011, Charleston Daily Mail, W.Va. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]