Sep 25, 2008 10:46 pm US/Pacific
Woman Charged With Running Child Actors Group Home
LOS ANGELES
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In March, the "Biz Parentz Foundation," a support group for parents of child actors, referred a dozen of Carter's clients to the City Attorney's Office, prompting an investigation that led to charges being filed.
AP
A San Fernando Valley woman was charged Thusday with unlawfully operating a group home for child actors, and violating a law intended to protect actors, especially children, from predatory talent service operators.
Bernadette Carter, 42, was charged with 13 misdemeanor counts -- 12 violations of the Advance Fee Talent Services Acts and one count of operating an unlicensed community care facility, according to Frank Mateljan, a communications deputy with the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office.
Since 2006, Carter has operated Carter Entertainment, a talent agency mainly representing prospective child and teen actors who originally resided outside of California.
Many were recruited by Carter at the semiannual iPOP talent conventions in Los Angeles and Las Vegas and were required to relocate to the Los Angeles area, sign management contracts with Carter and pay her between $250 and $300 per month for acting classes, Mateljan said.
In March, the "Biz Parentz Foundation," a support group for parents of child actors, referred a dozen of Carter's clients to the City Attorney's Office, prompting an investigation that led to charges being filed, Mateljan said.
Carter is charged with allegedly operating an advance fee talent service without posting a bond with the State Labor Department, using illegal contracts and charging artists for classes, a conflict of interest prohibited by law.
Numerous clients paid Carter $2,000 per month plus utilities and other expenses to reside at her unlicensed group home in Reseda, which she later relocated to Chatsworth, Mateljan said.
Investigators believe five and 15 children lived at the home at any one time, with only three adults supervising, Mateljan said.
Arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 8 in Division 81 of the Los Angeles Superior Court.
If convicted, Carter could face up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine for maintaining an unlicensed community care facility and up to one year in jail and a $10,000 fine for each violation of the Advance Fee Talent Services Acts, Mateljan said.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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