SYRACUSE -- An agency called Talent Solutions Group is at the DoubleTree Hotel in Carrier Circle this week, and we are investigating what this business is all about.
Ann Marie Stonecypher, who owns AMS Models, says she has heard complaints from her clients about this group. She says she sat in on a pitch from a Talent Solutions Group representative, in which he asked a teen for about $800 and said he could get her print work for companies like JC Penney and Macy's. Stonecypher says those companies don't do print work in Central New York.
We looked the company up on the Better Business Bureau website and found its website name listed under another name, Direct Connect 123. Direct Connect 123 was given a rating of "F" from the Better Business Bureau. It says 32 complaints were filed against the business, and Direct Connect 123 failed to respond to 8 complaints. The company also goes by the name Get Connected Talent.
We headed down to the DoubleTree to speak to someone about the company. A representative, Ryan Picco, told us he was in town only to cast a fashion show to be held at Carousel Center. He also told us that no one was being asked to give the company money at these meetings.
Local model Mike Hogan says that's not true. He says he went to the Talent Solutions Group call hoping it might get him more modeling jobs. He says he sat through a pitch from Picco, in which Picco told him the agency could get people jobs in everything from Barbie ads to swimsuit shoots. Hogan says Picco never even mentioned a Carousel Center fashion show. Hogan says, Picco told him before Talent Solutions Group would accept a client, that person had to pay about $500 to get pictures shot by a professional and a website set up.
Right now, the agency's website shows a professional picture of Picco. It features Picco not as an employee, but as a client under the websites "success stories."
Today, we also asked Picco about the BBB rating of "F." He says Talent Solutions Group bought out Direct Connect 123 because the company was "scamming people."
Several days after our story aired, the president of Talent Solutions Group provided us with a written statement responding to the allegations.
"TSG and its affiliate GetConnectedTalent.com are licensed in the State of Georgia and currently hold an A- rating with the Better Business Bureau in Atlanta, GA. There are no outstanding complaints or any current, pending, or past legal judgments against the company," the statement said.
In response to the type of work they are providing talent and how much money clients are expected to pay, the statement says, "Potential candidates have several options and are not limited when choosing their marketability. As with any business and sharing similarities with their competitor AMS Models, variable costs are involved when entering the industry. TSG is not an agency nor do they make their talent sign a modeling contract."
The president of the company says TSG is still hoping to do a fashion show in Central New York, and they are working to finalize the details about where that will be held.
