Los Angeles city attorney going after alleged talent scam

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer is cracking down on Hollywood talent scams, where agents and managers are allegedly taking advantage of aspiring actors and performers.

Feuer announced on Friday that he is pursuing misdemeanor charges against a so-called talent agent for allegedly scamming more than $100,000 from a teenage singer and her sister for up-front talent fees.

City attorneys say 53-year-old Debra Baum illegally charged a 19-year-old singer a $10,000 a month management fee for seven months.

Baum also charged additional amounts from third parties for vocal lessons, stylists and recordings. The singer's sister also paid another $40,000 in management fees to help with her acting.

Feuer said Baum violated the Talent Scam Prevention Act, which states that charging up-front talent fees is illegal in the state of California.

If convicted, Baum faces up to two years of jail time and $20,000 in penalty fees. Her arraignment is set for Feb. 5.

Feuer is teaming up with the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer Affairs, the Screen Actors Guild and the BizParentz Foundation, which works with parents of child entertainers, to go after what they call "unscrupulous talent agents" who swindle aspiring actors, singers and other entertainers.

Also, Feuer wants to get the word out to actors that they need to do their own research and watch out for red flags.

"I think that everybody who has a child or who is an adult seeking to get into the business needs to know that you cannot be charged up-front management fees, and anybody who would even suggest that that's part of the deal going in is someone from whom you should walk away very fast," Feuer said.

Feuer reminded people that legitimate talent agents are licensed and bonded by the state of California, so anyone who does not have such credentials should be avoided.

You can get more information about such scams on the Los Angeles City Attorney's website.

City News Service contributed to this report.