CLEVELAND -- Tell an aspiring model she's beautiful, and the checkbook is out.

Some young aspiring models said that an agency took their money and their trust, NewsChannel5's Jodi Brooks reports in Wednesday's Special Assignment.

Jessi Sewell, 19, dreams of becoming a professional model.

"I've always been tall," she said. "People have always said, 'You could model.'"

So Sewell decided to go for it. She answered an ad from Z Models, which has offices in Akron, Mentor, and Columbus. Shortly thereafter, she began to see problems.

"I paid $400, and when I first walked in the door, they told me they needed a check for $70 to get my hair and makeup done," she said.

Sewell had signed a portfolio agreement with her mother by her side. She agreed to pay the non-refundable $800. Although it was a lot of money for a teenager, she was sold on the idea.

"He really reassured us that this was a good company, (that) they had a good thing going and that they (would) get jobs for me," she said.

Sewell wasn't the only one who felt like she had a real shot at modeling.

"I felt like I was guaranteed modeling jobs," Jackie Breha, 18, said. "They told me I was the ideal image."

"I'm 118 (pounds), 6 feet 1 inches (tall), I'm a size 3 dress," Jennifer Johnson, 20, said. "I'm what they're looking for, and here, he told me I could make it as a model."

NewsChannel5 went undercover to see the selling tactics used at Z Models.

"As long as you girls are here at least one Sunday every month getting the material, as well as the exposure, all you're going to do is work," a representative told the clients on the undercover camera. "We all work together. In all reality, you're going to be working before your book is even full."

A check at the Better Business Bureau shows an unsatisfactory record against Z Models, with 28 complaints against Z Models.

Records showed that the company has responded to the complaints.

"There is a theme that runs through many of the complaints, that the consumers are disappointed that having spent money with Z Models, they have not been given any modeling jobs," said Sue McConnell, the vice president of operations at the BBB.

Z Models would not go on camera, but faxed NewsChannel5 a statement that read in part, "It has never been our policy to guarantee employment."

Z Models is not doing anything illegal, NewsChannel5 reports. The models are signing a form, agreeing to pay a non-refundable $800. And nowhere on the form does it guarantee modeling work. So what should a young girl look for in a modeling agency?

"You never write the agency a check for your marketing materials, pictures, etc.," talent agent Dominick Palazzo said.

Aspiring models should pay the photographer; the agency makes money when the model gets a job.

"The other thing to watch out for are companies that continually run help-wanted ads," McConnell said.

NewsChannel5 found three classified ads in The Plain Dealer under modeling agencies -- all for Z Models -- and the last one is looking for "model victims" -- girls who are tired of wasting big money.

But some of the girls said that they lost more than money.

"I, at one point, thought I wasn't pretty enough to be a model," Breha said.

Sewell, Breha and Johnson all said that they have had it with modeling.

"When someone says, 'You're beautiful, you're beautiful,' you soak it right up," Sewell said.

For many young girls, it's an ugly lesson in such a glamorous business, NewsChannel5 reports.

Z Models faxed several documents and photos of models, saying that it's evidence that they get aspiring models modeling jobs.

Below are more tips to look for when choosing a modeling agency:

• If you want to be a model, remember to never pay the agency -- pay the photographer.
• You should be able to choose your own photographer.
• The shoot should not be a cattle call, but rather, an individual session.
• Call companies to find out what agency they use.
• Finally, call other models to hear about their experiences.