Talent Agencies
New Seattle TalentInformation and Alerts
Alert Details
This business has 1 alert.
Government Actions
State of Washington v Michael-Jon Matthew Hickey f/d/b/a New Seattle Talent; West Coast Talent, Inc.; Casting Seattle; FMH Modeling; Seattle Talent; and Active Entertainment
The following describes a pending government action that has been formally brought by a government agency but has not yet been resolved. We are providing a summary of the governments allegations, which have not yet been proven.
On December 20, 2016, the Washington State Attorney General’s Office entered into a Complaint for Injunctive and Other Relief with the State of Washington King County Superior Court. Michael-Jon Matthew “Matt” Hickey is accused of multiple violations of the Washington Consumer Protection Act and the Commercial Electronic Mail Act. The complaint alleges that Hickey created an elaborate business enterprise that offered and advertised commercial services solely for his personal gain and sexual gratification, never attempting or intending to follow through on the promised services. Hickey allegedly posed as a woman named Deja Stwalley, contacting women via social media sites claiming to run a “woman-owned” talent recruiting company called New Seattle Talent while offering to connect women with high-paying jobs in the adult entertainment industry. Claims allege that Hickey had no intention of helping these women find jobs, but rather created a fake business in order to convince his victims to pose for nude photos and have sex with him as part of a phony “audition” process.
The complaint asks the court to order Hickey to stop his deceptive practices, provide restitution to victims and impose civil penalties of up to $2,000 per violation. Each unfair or deceptive act Hickey committed in furtherance of his “business” could constitute a separate Consumer Protection Act violation.
Once Hickey has been served with the complaint, he will have 30 days to respond.
If you believe you are a victim of this scam or have been contacted by Matt Hickey posing as someone else online, please contact the Washington Attorney General investigator Charlann Schakel at (206)389-3850 or at [email protected]. Complaints related to this case or other consumer issues can also be filed at atg.wa.gov/file-complaint.
Click here to read the Washington Attorney General’s press release regarding this complaint - www.atg.wa.gov/news/news-releases/ag-sues-man-who-used-fake-business-trick-women-sex.
For more information, please contact the Washington Attorney General at (360)753-6200 or www.atg.wa.gov.
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