We have a team of professionals people cracking down scammers targeting the modeling industry. Recently the Norfolk Superior Court convicted two men found guilty of scamming more than a dozen models, ages 2 to 32, out of thousands of dollars..

The two men were the owners of MM. The men “scammed” aspiring models in the city and then after meeting with them, encouraged them to pay money ( between $500-700) to have their pictures posted on their website, as well as a monthly maintenance fee. Additionally they also charged models exorbitant fees for photo shoots and video productions.

Marvel Models used deceptive advertising strategies and made false statements in order to lure models and convince them to sign with Marvel Models. The owners of Marvel Models told prospective models that:

MM had offices around the world including Paris, Milan and Italy
MM had been in business for ten years
MM supplied models for several high-end fashion magazines and for big companies all over the world ( Pampers,Nivea, Pantene, MTV, Cosmopolitan)

None of these statements were true. Additionally, MM lied about the number of models that they actually represented in order to make their agency appear larger and more established than it actually was. The good news is that both men were forced to pay restitution to their victims, so the models were able to recoup funds that had been paid to Marvel Models. Not only is that great news for the models who were targeted by Marvel Models, but it’s also great news for our industry! Hopefully as more scammers are investigated and prosecuted, the industry will become safer for aspiring models.