***************UPDATE****************UPDATE*********************UPDATE***************
09/12/09
THEY WILL NOT GO AWAY! THEY WILL NOT STOP! TEXAS CONTACT YOUR LAW MAKERS!
The gang that was just in Texas setting up shop has now a web site
http://gobeontv.com/contact
Erik DeSando, YOU claimed that in 17 day's you made $110,000 and had 1100 memberships!(if YOU want it,I'll post it!) Wow! If YOU read this blog a little more you claimed that due to "the bad financial climate" that YOU had "no more money" and had to shut all the California offices and turn the company over to "My Financial Services". Too bad YOU have no shame to take care of the people that were taken in California.
What excuse are YOU going to give Texas,when you guy's walk away AGAIN!
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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Complaint filed against Be Productions/Monterey Fi...":
This comment was sent:
HUGE HUGE-FYI!!!
If you have been scammed in Texas and would like to get your money back then contact the Texas Attorney General's Office!! They are investigating and are looking for those that have paid money with checks or credit card!
My wife and daughter were approached at a mall..fed a bunch of bogus information at the casting call about Be on TV's affiliation with Disney and The Suite Life of Zach and Cody and how they would put my daughter on the show and train with Esteban..Adrian R Mante which is not Esteban at all. I filed a complaint with BBB in California and notified the Attorney General in Texas over their business practices and filed a police report of their deceptive and fraudulent scam. I also talked to the management company where they setup residence in Texas and notified them of the impending lawsuits and disgruntled parents that were about to show up at their building. It was an Executive Suites in which they only rented the smallest package possible...basically a place to receive mail. We filed a Reg E Complaint with our bank as a fraudulent charge on our credit card and we are waiting for the results. We have also warned as many people possible using Topix. The last place they were hitting was Austin.keep fighting these people ..its a war with information. Hopefully, the good guys will win.
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Suzanne G. has left a new comment on your post
Thursday, August 27th 2009, Austin, TX- My son and I were approached in a chain store about attending a screen test with the possibility of working with Adrian R'mante. The screening is scheduled to take place on Sunday, August 30 from 2 - 6pm at the Clarion Inn Conference Center (2200 S. IH-35, Austin, TX 78704). I found this blog b/c I was trying to find out whether or not this screening was legitimate. Sadly, it sounds similar to other posts I have read of scammed parents. The post card has the picture of Esteban with the two suitcases and the logo from The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. It also has "That Kids Got Talent!" listed on it - I have no idea what this is - a company name or a show. It also lists the name of the individual who invited us - LIZA (along with her phone number). I have scanned the postcard in case you are interested in seeing it. If you think this is the same company operating under a different name, it may help someone else from being scammed.
Best of Luck to everyone!
Suzanne
Concerned Parent in Austin, TX
And More From Suzanne:
My son and I were approached at a Target (FM 2222 & 620) store of all places! The really odd thing is that my son has taken acting classes for the last couple of years at a local legitimate non-profit arts organization. So, we were interested but I also thought it was strange that they would be recruiting in a store. I would have expected them to contact local acting or talent agencies for this. So my spidey sense told me to google them. I looked through quite a few google pages before I found your blog! I don't know if the person who does the web updating for you can do this or not - but I think you can add hidden keywords in the html that will cause your webpage to show up on searches. I first tried googling Adrian R'mante, then the Suite Life... but they both brought up too many results. Then I tried "that kids got talent!" which actually seemed to bring up some you tube videos and some legitimate looking shows. So, I wasn't real sure the postcard I received was a scam or not. I did pull up the website from Biz Parents (not sure this is the exact name) but they had some general information on their website that there are a lot of child acting scams out there. That's when my husband and I decided that we would not take my son to the screening. This morning I real ALL THE WAY through your blog and am now convinced that these are the same people. What did it for me was the posting of June 19, 2009 (see below as I have pasted it in entirety). The contact person and phone number on my postcard IS THE SAME as the one from Dallas in June. The woman in Dallas was contacted on a call-back by someone believed to be named "Castro" from BE. PRODUCTIONS! There is no doubt in my mind now who is behind this! I just hope the word gets out in time to prevent others from being duped!
-Suzanne
In Case you missed it,this comment was also sent:
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Take a second to help spread the word!/Austin Texa...":
Hi Suzanne, We got approached with the same postcard last Sat. in Dallas. We went for a "screen" test and are now going back for an "interview" with "Anthony" (who said he was on Touched By An Angel" for 3 years. And of course only * familes were "selected.' If you all want his number, please let me know. I am thinking of going back to our "interview" just to mess with him!!! If you all have any suggestions/advice, let me know!!!
As Suzanne said read my post from the parent from Dallas:
Friday, June 19, 2009
Be Attacks Dallas..They Must Be Stopped!
BeProductions Scam - Now in Dallas, TX
Sent to me by a friend:
Below is a link where you can urge Dallas, Texas' local ABC news tation to follow California's suit and do a piece on the scam that is BE.
BE has been hitting the territory of Dallas/Fort Worth for the past few months and already there are several complaints, so let's make sure the message is spread so no more parent's and children can get hurt emotionally and financially. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
http://www.wfaa.com/contact/?newsTips
16 comments:
I want to point out that on reading through all of the blog I found a posting on June 19, 2009 (on this blog) from a woman in Dallas TX. The postcards distributed in Dallas, TX has the EXACT SAME CONTACT person (Liza) and PHONE NUMBER as the one I received in Austin yesterday. The woman in Dallas did take her child to the screening and received a call back from... someone at Be. Productions!!!! So, in my mind the dots have all been connected and the Austin screening is being conducted by the same company / individuals as the California and Dallas ones.
Hi Suzanne, We got approached with the same postcard last Sat. in Dallas. We went for a "screen" test and are now going back for an "interview" with "Anthony" (who said he was on Touched By An Angel" for 3 years. And of course only * familes were "selected.' If you all want his number, please let me know. I am thinking of going back to our "interview" just to mess with him!!! If you all have any suggestions/advice, let me know!!!
Anonymous and Suzanne,great job!
Anonymous,if you would like to contact me furthur,my e-mail address is posted. Check my blog for the offers..they might just be the same. Let me know if see some familiar faces.
I was approached by the same woman at the Target on Lakeline Mall Blvd (near 620 & 183). At first I was flattered, but the more I inspected the card, the more suspicious I became. The lack of any name of production company, the use of the Suite Life of Zack and Cody logo and Adrian R'Mante, coupled with at least two typos ("Disney's TV Star Adrian R'Mante WANT you to come...") all pointed to something not being right. Extensive googling led me to this blog. Thank you for saving me a lot of time.
It's great the blog is working,let me know if you know any "key words" I can add to help others!
From Topix:
MOM of 2
Frisco, TX
Reply »
|Report Abuse |Judge it! |#481 2 hrs ago
I, too, like Suzanne above, got approached by someone at the mall in DFW with the same postcard. My children had a "screen test" and of course we got a call back for an "interview" this weekend. Since I have reasearched this I am looking forward to having a little fun with "Anthony" who said he appeared on "Touched By An Angel" for three years. Anyone have any suggestions? Clearly I am not going to be scammed or pay them any money, but I look forward to asking him about all the complaints and class action lawsuits At the screen test Adrian R'Mante actually showed up to obviously lend credibility to "be". They also had lota of "Say What?" posters everywhere.
Adding the key words "Adrian R'Mante" and "That Kid's Got Talent", might help. Anything you see on the card that was scanned in the original post. There was NO other information for me to go on, I finally found another site when I googled "Liza" and the phone number on the card, and that site let me here.
Thanks Kelley..done..has anyone reached out to your local TV Stations like I did,to let them know what was going on yet?
Here are links to some of the news stations in Austin in case anyone wants to share their story with Be.:
CBS (KEYE) - News Hotline: 512-835-0335 or 1-800-5-NEWS-42 or http://weareaustin.com/content/aboutus/contactnews
NBC (KXAN) - Austin News Tips Line: 512-703-5300
ABC (KVUE) - NEWS@KVUE.com
FOX 7 News (KTBC) - news@fox7.com
News 8 Austin - http://www.news8austin.com/content/contact_us/viewer_center/Your_News/
I was approached this evening ( Friday, August 28th) at the Lakeline Mall in Dillard's and given the same postcard with Adrian R'Mante on it for my little boy. I just took the post card and thanked her without inquiring anything about it, since I figured it was a scam. The contact name on the postcard was Marie and the phone number was (310)920-8200.
I just wanted to provide more information for anyone who was searching for it.
hI, tHIS IS mOMOF 2, wE HAVE AN APPOINTMENT TODAY AT 3 BUT ARE GOING TO BLOW IT OFF BECAUSE OF THIS BLOG AND ALL OF THE OTHER NEGATIVE THINGS WE HAVE SEEN ONLINE. i ALSO WANTED TO ADD THAT WHEN WE HAD OUR INTERVIEW WITH ANTHONY HE TOLD US "Don't tell anyone else but if you stay awhile you can meet Adrian!" Well we were starving and we went to eat at a nearby place, we saw another family who was at the screeening was told the exact same thing. They were also approached in a mall, jsut like we were and were told that thier son was "gorgeous" and had the "look" that they were looking for. EXACTLY what we were told. In case anyone is interested "Anthonys" number is 408-425-8383. I am so glad that this blog was posted, thanks for the heads up. Just an FYI, my son went on a modeling interview with a local reputable agency (Page Parks) and they told us that NEVER to give any money to get your child into modeling and or acting, and if they "got it" they "got it!" Too bad they are not doing the under 12 age group any more because they were GREAT!
I contacted Fox7 last night and spoke with someone at the news desk - she said she would meet with her producer at 1:00 today and call me if they decided to do a story. I guess they didn't.
Wow. I'm glad I found this blog. I almost wasted an afternoon after being handed the same card (scanned above) at Lakeline Mall earlier this week. I think we'll skip the hassle now.
My daughters and I were approached about 2 hours ago at Lake line Mall in Cedar Park, TX (Austin area) by Denise. She invited us to the Clarion Inn for a screen test. At first I was kind of excited but the "protective mom" alarm went off while leaving the mall. I'm so glad that I did some internet research and found this website. This blog just saved us from wasting an entire Sunday afternoon. Thank you everyone!
Unknown 8/29 3:25pm
Yesterday, Aug. 29th, My three daughters and I where also approached by this same woman at Lakeline mall in Cedar Park, Texas. There is no doubt in my mind that this is a scam! What kind of a woman can stand in front of little girls and lie to them, and knowingly attempt to steal from their parents. She of course made the invitation to "Screen Test" sound exclusive, she said only about 40 girls have been invited. Lol...I hope she enjoys her stolen treasures here on earth, because I have no doubt that she will have a special place in the after life....BURN BABY BURN!
I also contacted the Clarion Inn here in Austin, Tx. and advised them of this companies reputation. Hopefuly The Clarion Inn will put these theives out on their asses, and not be a part of hurting so many hard working famalies. The Austin Police dept. advises that any families that have been ripped off by this company contact the Texas Attorney Generals office and file a complaint. Welcome to Texas you frauds.
Michael 8/30 11:52am
I'm glad that I read this blog. I took my daughter in for an audition in San Francisco back in October to audition for Adrian R'Mante TV Commercial and Network. We never heard back and I just got a call today from Anthony with the number 408-425-8383 saying that my daughter got chosen to be part of the Adrian R'Mante network. I didn't pick up and he had left me a voicemail. Before I called back, I researched it and found this blog. I called him back to see what he would say and he said that 30 kids were chosen to be part of this network. They would work 2 days with Adrian and the other days with other stars. I asked him how much it cost and he said, packages start at $750. I told him that I would have to discuss it with my husband, but seriously, there's nothing to discuss. I'm not calling him back. Be careful out there, they're back in Northern California.
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