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UPDATE: August 14, 2003

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The following are links to sound bites which are recordings made by Rip-off Report™ as a result of some clandestine relationships developed with employees, agents and representatives of Trans Continental Talent and/or Wilhelmina Scouting Network. Most of these sound bites are taken from regular meetings conducted via conference calls set up by the company or its franchisees or agents. CLICK HERE: In this sound clip you will hear Alec instruct his office directors across the country to file bogus Rip-off Reports to throw the media off. Also, hear their nervous laughter following the dissent from the franchise owner in Grand Rapids, decrying the dishonesty of the plan. Listen as Alec quickly backs away from the issue, using his trademark, stammering double talk. The importance of this sound bite shows the motivation of Trans Continental employees, creating phony Rip-off Reports which were used to base a frivolous lawsuit against Rip-off Report.com CLICK HERE: In this sample, you will hear one of Dave Elliot's hell, fire & brimestone sermons so somniferous it would put someone to sleep. So rousing, in fact, that someone did fall asleep during his oration. (Too funny for words!) CLICK HERE: In this sound clip, listen to Lou Pearlman's barely intelligible utterances, as he blubbers a greeting, in between bites of shrimp (you know he likes that!), and then Alec announces that they are going to make him their spokesman around the country? CLICK HERE: Alec declares his intent to file lawsuits against any employee or former employee who speaks out to the media to reveal what he or she knows about them. They stand upon their 'Confidentiality Agreement,' which they believe protects them from employees and former employees, who might
reveal what they know about their fraudulent activity. CLICK HERE: You are about to hear David B. Elliot indoctrinating his new scouts. Note that this business is all about numbers of victims, not quality. What is the primary criterion for the target? Is it how good they look? No, as a matter of fact he tells them to get 'wide faces,' but the primary criterion is, 'Do they have money?'! 'Stay out of the poor area... they can't afford the $795,' you'll hear him instruct the wannabe model scouts. Beware! As the government closes in... there is information that the primary individuals involved are moving operations to Model Search America. Perhaps, Dave Mogul should have a conversation with Lou Pearlman and see that he is making the worst mistake of his life.

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UPDATE: August 16, 2003

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The following links are recordings made by Rip-off Report™ while interviewing Bill Hoffman, General Manager of WFTV, the ABC affiliate in Orlando, on March 31, 2003. The goal of the interview was to determine why investigative reports about Trans Continental Talent were removed from their website and why Todd Ulrich's investigation was 'killed.' Mr. Hoffman was surprisingly candid and admitted that it had everything to do with TCT underwriting WFTV's 9 Family Connection. CLICK HERE: Bill Hoffman Interview Part 1 - WFTV community charity support by businesses impacts their decisions to pursue negative reports. CLICK HERE: Bill Hoffman Interview Part 2 - TCT stories removed from WFTV website because TCT underwrote 9 Family Connection Community Charity and because he bought the bogus explanation by TCT representatives. CLICK HERE: Bill Hoffman Interview Part 3 - WFTV 'kills' 3 or 4 stories that Todd Ulrich was working on. WFTV knew about the criminal element at TCT and accepted explanations only from TCT without checking further with the Florida Attorney General. CLICK HERE: To view additional information on Pearlman's corruption of the media.What yet remains to be learned is how much Lou Pearlman had to pay WFTV to turn the other way in the face of overwhelming evidence of fraud and in an interesting twist, whether Richard Jans posed as an attorney to deceive WFTV. Richard Jans agreed to resign from the bar in lieu of disciplinary proceedings. Jans allegedly misappropriated approximately $239,000 in client trust funds. (Florida Supreme Court Case no. SC02-2072) This qualification for employment at TCT was no doubt a major plus, joining those of his same ilk. Perfect candidate for employment with Mark Tolner, Lou Pearlman, Trans Continental Talent and Fashion Rock CLICK HERE: To view the documents concerning Richard Jans, who has apparently posed a WSN attorney at least in one case when he contacted WPEC in West Palm Beach, Florida. Jans resignation from the bar is tantamount to disbarment. ______________________________
RIP-OFF REPORT™ INVESTIGATION
By Frank Torelli
Rip-off Report™ Investigative Reporter Louis J. Pearlman
Alec Defrawy: One selling point for the photo package is that with the right lighting we can even make Lou look really, really good! Summary

• 1994 – “Alec" Defrawy & David B. Elliot arrested and charged with a number of counts of fraud. Alec hooks up with Ralph Edward Bell and starts the model scout scam at Erickson Agency. AYMAN 'ALEC' A. EL-DIFRAWI: Shell game from hell CLICK HERE: To see the two charges filed against Alec Defrawy. CLICK HERE: To see Alec modus operandi when faced with a legal complaint; register as an indigent. Then he doesn't have to pay for the defense of his crimes, the people and his mother pay. • 1995 – This reporter investigates Erickson Agency in Northern Virginia and successive iterations involving “Alec" Defrawy, Ralph Edward Bell (Trish Erickson's ex-husband) and Jason Hoffman; Creative Artist, Inc. and Model 1. [CLICK HERE to see some of the assorted cards used as part of the modus operandi for the various iterations of TCT] • 1996 – Federal indictment lands jail time for Alec Defrawy in a telemarketing fraud charge. David B. Elliot also sentenced in the same case. (They were arrested early in 1994.)Click HERE to see the charges and docket number of the federal case against Alec Defrawy and Dave Elliot Dave Elliot: King of Sting • Alec released from federal prison and placed under supervised probation until July 27, 2002. (Unbelievably, he began another scam while on probation.)

• 1999 – FTC files charges against Ralph Edward Bell and Jason Hoffman for their part in the Creative Artist and Model 1 scam. They reached a deal.

• Alec and others open Studio 58 Models, Spectrum Dream and Modasco, Inc. This time he puts them in a trust under his mother's name, Rafiah Kashmiri.

• Studio 58 Models gets shut down. Modasco claims heavy military ties, writing training exercise programs for the US Marine Corps, training programs for the US Air Force F-16, and super optics for satellite technology.

• Alec brings in his old buddies, serially and en masse, to mobilize the original concept of operation for the model scout scam - enter “eModels."

• Alec forges ties with Palestinian tycoon, Mohamed Hadid and reportedly to Saafa trust. (He still maintains financial interest in TCT.) Lou Pearlman's offices are located with TC Talent at 7380 Sand Lake Rd, Orlando, Florida • Operational name change to “Options Talent" and Mohamed Hadid takes over “ownership" of the corporation.

• Early 2002, FBI raid of SAAR headquarters in Herndon, Virginia and the identification of Mohammed Yaqub Mirza as an alleged bagman for al Qaeda.

• Options Talent contacts Rip-off Report to remove reporting because negative reporting was coming up on search engines before their own websites. Rip-off Report begins full-time investigation, dedicating this reporter to this case.

• Rip-off Report officially notifies state of Florida about the scam and requests a full-scale investigation.

• Rip-off Reports and e-mail, filed by readers, allege Options Talent raising money for terrorism. Shortly after some reporting appears, Hadid left the US for Mexico the end of August 2002, according to sources. UPDATE: One might also wonder what a modeling scam at Studio 58 Models has to do with Modasco and it heavy military contracts. [EDitor's Note: this information has been temporarily removed for editorial review.] • Operational name change in early September 2002 to Trans Continental Talent and assumption of ownership by Lou Pearlman. (Note: Official SEC filings describe Pearlman's affiliation with the enterprise in 1999, despite the fact Pearlman has testified he has little to do with the TCT operation. How does Lou explain humping around the country with John Daly to get the reality TV show off the ground glamorizing the life of the TCT model scout?)
This business also has a reputation of not returning money to dissatisfied customers. And why should things change drastically? Lou Pearlman has been sued for racketeering and Options Talent for not meeting contractual arrangements. [CLICK HERE to see a list of open lawsuits against Lou Pearlman and Options Talent] • To date, Rip-off Report has received nearly 1,600 complaints about the various incarnations of this company, including reporting and e-mails. (In our experience this represents only a small fraction of those who have complained via other more well-known venues.) We remain the single most reliable source of consumer information, providing information to law enforcement, federal and state governmental agencies, and the media. Trans Continental Talent, Inc. Building: The lamp is lit in the Dave Elliot War Room. Options Talent used Legal Process to Intimidate a Detractor Tara Doyle is a victim of Options Talent aka Trans Continental Talent in more ways than one; as a talent scout she alleges that Options Talent routinely cheated scouts of their due wages, and then when she dared complain about her experiences they sued her. Here is corporate abuse to the extreme. Reca Rene Chamberlain - Trans Continental Talent's “Bulldog" Options Talent was the big bully with all the bucks to hire a mean lawyer and they played that card. Options Talent's bulldog, who continues to pander her services to the latest iteration of the scam - Trans Continental Talent, is Reca Rene Chamberlain. Victim Tara handing out Rip-off Report leaflets to potential victims Before Tara was reportedly fired in June 2002 because of her sexual orientation, she had also looked into the practices of the company and discussed her concerns with some of her coworkers. Then she began exposing them on Rip-off Report™, which quickly came to the attention of Options Talent. Shortly thereafter she was served with a Summons suing her for $15,000 for interference with business. It is interesting that nowhere in the Summons does Options allege that Tara slandered or libeled them. It basically only states that it affected their ability to do business.
(CLICK HERE to See Options Talent Summons & Complaint, suing Tara, former employee and her answers to the complaint) Warning: TCT also targets senior citizens Victim Tara handing out leaflets The Octopus Months earlier, representatives of Options Talent contacted Rip-off Report asking us if we would remove reports from our website that were negative about their company because search engines were picking up our reports before their websites. We immediately knew that there was a problem with this company and began our investigation dedicating this reporter to the case. This reporter quickly learned that ironically this was a resurrection of a scam that he had investigated in 1995 - 1999. The same familiar names cropped up, Alec Defrawy, Ralph Edward Bell, Jason Hoffman; all names connected to a similar scam associated with Erickson Agency, Creative Artists, Inc., and Model 1.

That model scout scam was only temporarily derailed so that Alec could join his confederate, Dave Elliot in federal prison for telemarketing fraud. Ed Bell and Jason Hoffman reached an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission to get out of the model scout business. (Still under investigation is whether or not their involvement in Studio 58 Models, eModels, and Options Talent violated that agreement. Roger Burke was the federal prosecutor in the original fraud case. Although this case was to have been passed to another federal prosecutor with jurisdictional responsibility for Central Florida, apparently the Florida Assistant Attorney General, Jackie Dowd is the de facto lead in the investigation.)

Other individuals described as scamsters brought into the operation include Michael Innes and others from “the other side of the pond" and later Fred Vanore, from New Jersey. Although in 2000 the FTC had shut down Vanore's 'Model Search America' scam, TCT expanded to target children. The plans became grander and more complicated making it more difficult for law enforcement to know how to regulate them, which we postulate is by design. The only recourse then, was a campaign of public notification. [ Scamsters are defined by complainants as anyone who willingly participates in a scam. If any individual mentioned objects to the company they keep in this assemblage they do have the option of submitting their resignation.] UPDATE: Thanks to a very reliable source, this was provided from a 1979 article. We find the following quote from those who know him best... his accusers, attorneys Greenberg and Silverstein.

'Cortes Randell, whose consistent way of life has been fraud, poses an economic danger to the community,' federal prosecutors said in a report urging Randell be jailed in the NCCC case.

'Randell is very creative when it comes to fraud,' wrote U.S. Attorneys Theodore Greenberg and Morris Silverstein. 'RANDELL HAS CONTINUALLY SHOWN HIMSELF TO BE A PERSON WHO WILL NOT HESITATE TO DECEIVE INVESTORS, BANKS AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.'

The more things change the more they stay the same. Twenty four years later, Cort Randell is still at it....... Cortes Randell: Government calls them Holy Roller Scamsters Investigation Empowers Other Victims and Produces Defections Tara has become the focal point of this investigation because for the first time that we know of, this company had sought to intimidate someone into silence about their wrongdoings. In the process of investigating these problems we have uncovered several ancillary scandals. Additionally, some employees, with their conscience still intact, have volunteered to provide information from inside the corporation. The information was hard to believe. Yet, in the face of overwhelming evidence, we must continue to develop what is going on at TCT. TC Talent Tampa Bay Much of what we know has already been placed on Rip-off Report. Independent evidence of these claims have not been placed on this website, but have been redirected to law enforcement for their action. In late Summer 2002 this reporter wrote to the Attorney General (AG), the Inspector General (IG) and the Governor of the State of Florida after he learned that there was one complaint about Options Talent, which had already been closed out. It was already known that others had reported and this was the purpose of the letter to the Florida OAG.

Another victim who spoke out on Rip-off Report, an Asian-American model, who turned down Options Talent's offer to represent her on their website, recently contacted another Rip-off Report volunteer and told her that she was recently mugged and asked us to investigate whether or not this was an effort to intimidate her into silence. That incident is still under investigation. TCT Targets Rip-off Report for Hostile Action What we do know is the Trans Continental Talent employs personnel in the Castnet.com operation to monitor Rip-off Reports, respond to them and to file false reporting. They have also targeted their competitors, Pro-Scout, Millennium Models, and Model Search America. Recently, Rip-off Report was the subject of a hostile hacker attack, aimed at disrupting this website. That attack began on February 18, 2003, which has thus far been unsuccessful. Rip-off Report has also learned that the Castnet.com operation is due to move to Los Angeles in the next couple of months under the direction of Paul Scholtz. Currently, Erin Cameron, in Agency Services, directs the disruptive activities of this business. TCT Scouts May Soon Need to be Reclassified… Retroactively? Central to Tara's complaint also involves the abuse of her employment status by Options Talent. Each iteration of the Trans Continental Talent ploy has insisted that their talent or model scouts are 1099-status independent contractors. Tara's position is that she was actually an employee since her hours were set and they used her as a trainer, which should be a full-time function. If the IRS is convinced to enforce the reclassification, TCT would owe former employees, the federal and state government millions of dollars in back benefits, even as much as three years, which is about the duration of the latest reincarnation.

Any scout or former scout who wishes to file a claim will need to file an IRS Form SS-8. Time may be limited, so you may want to check with the IRS. Even if you are not planning on challenging your worker status, it would be worthwhile looking at all the tests available, which this company does not meet, in determining whether a person is to be an independent contractor or an employee. [CLICK HERE to see and print out a copy of the IRS Form SS-8] Hypocrisy Although TCT claims to be a principled business that does not allow suggestive photography, they target the male Gay population; not to enfranchise them, but to target them and their lifestyle. Rip-off Report has obtained a shameless example of this hypocrisy. In Jacksonville, Florida, Options Talent not only advertised in a Gay magazine, but also sponsored a male model search. This has been viewed by members of the Gay community as exploitive and calloused targeting. The Media Blitz A grass roots media campaign by victims, both former scouts and clients, have notified the public in New York City, Phoenix, Kansas City, Tampa, Orlando, San Diego, Chicago, Las Vegas, Miami, Seattle, and the movement continues. The efforts, which include handing out leaflets and posting announcement in public transportation, have been met by consternation and directed training from TCT executives on how to handle these situations. Some include removing people from public buildings and other methods which may overstep their legal authority. Rip-off Report™ leaflets in a CTA train Rip-off Report™ has coordinated the victims efforts to notify the media of their outrage directed at this scam. Gratefully, the media is responding to the outrage and not letting these culprits have a moments rest.

This rapidly-growing scam has now gone international expanding most recently to Moscow, Russia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Shanghai, China. It is interesting to note that their reputation preceded them. Articles by the Moscow Times and restrictions by the Government of the People's Republic of China should go a long way to hamper efforts to bilk the hard-earned cash from the good people of these countries.

An international media campaign to expose this scam has begun. TC Talent responds with its own press release propaganda, which has been largely ignored.

In response to the recent onslaught from the media investigating this scam, the truth has once again become a casualty in this particular quest for truth. TCT's PR (Particularly Reprehensible) Department has released the figure of 99.7% representing the percentage of customers satisfied with their product. They do not explain their method of sampling so it can not be duplicated. It is interesting to note that this reporter conducted his own sample only from the Tampa Bay Office and of a population of 897, I conducted a random sample of 90 customers (10%) and found that 96% were not satisfied with their product. It is our position that this noxious release is up to par with the rest of their sales pitches.

Rip-off Report™ has made a number of attempts to contact TCT for their position and specific response to the issues raised by consumers on this website, but have not received a response.

This investigation is ongoing and we will update this report as more information becomes available.

Frank Torelli - Rip-off Report™ Investigative Reporter
Toronto, Ontario
Canada CLICK HERE: To view additional information on Pearlman's corruption of the media.

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