Is my agency legit?

Question

I found an agency in IMTA LA 2008, JG Model Management, and soon afterward {like a month or so ago} i signed with them. They said they would send me to fashion week and that I would get a photo shoot. I was and still am excited! But, then he asks $160 for portfolio and i think to be on his website or something..{jgmodels.com, which is still "coming soon"}, and my dad said "ok...doesn't sound too bad..." then, he asks for $1200 for a photo shoot and the comp cards...well, my dad thought this was really expensive but we took the two and a half hour trip to his office and gave him the check...he specifically said to Jason "don't cash it in unil Tuesday or Wednsday because my check still hasn't come in either and I have no money in the bank. the next day, the check is bounced...apparantly one of his coworkers "accidentally" checked it in on that day...now, my dad is all pissed off and doesn't believe this...so I don't know what to think...is it too expensive? is it a scam? HELP!! Thank you

Answer 1

Rip off. A legitimate modeling agency will pay you. You do not have to put up any money for portfolios, etc. They will send you out on jobs, take a cut of their fees (10 to 20%), and send you a check for the rest.

Answer 2

You are lucky it bounced.  Be quick and call your bank and put a stop payment on it before they resubmit it again and save yourself 1200.

Are they a scam?  They are supposed to represent models and get them jobs?  How are they supposed to represent you if they can't sell themselves.  They don't even have a functioning web site.  I looked.  It's just a stock photo of a girl's head and the address for people who want to be models to send their money.

Did you ask for this person's background?  References?  What does this person know about managing models?  The web domain name was registered on June 13, 2007, more than a year ago.  This should be long enough to create a web site and get rid of the "coming soon".