Philip Foster, a 51-year-old former Brookside actor, was apprehended in Alicante, Spain, on Thursday by Guardia Civil officers after absconding before his fraud and money laundering trial.
The National Crime Agency confirmed Foster, who skipped bail, was tried and found guilty in his absence at Sheffield Crown Court in February 2025.
He was handed an eight-and-a-half-year prison sentence for orchestrating a £13.6million fraudulent modelling agency scheme that preyed on the aspirations of would-be models.
The NCA said proceedings to extradite him back to the United Kingdom are now under way.
Philip Foster has been arrested in Spain after absconding before his fraud trial
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PA
According to a National Trading Standards investigation spanning six years, the scheme defrauded more than 6,000 people who handed over substantial sums after being falsely promised paid modelling work.
Foster directed the operation from Spain, where he enjoyed a lavish lifestyle, while relying on a network of associates across England to run bogus agencies and photography studios.
These front businesses operated in several major cities, among them London, Manchester, Leeds, Bristol, Coventry and Nottingham.
The racket, which exploited the ambitions of young aspiring models and their families, ran for over eight years before being dismantled.
The former Brookside actor orchestrated a £13.6million fraudulent modelling agency scheme
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CHANNEL 4
Targets were lured in through social media adverts and local photography studio promotions, then contacted via email claiming a modelling agency had spotted their potential.
A complimentary test shoot at one of the studios served as the hook to extract payment from them, NTS found.
Victims were presented with polished brochures and assured others in their position had gone on to succeed.
However, they were told they first needed to purchase a professional portfolio to secure agency representation.
More than 6,000 people were defrauded through the bogus modelling operation
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GETTY
Some resorted to credit arrangements set up by the fraudsters themselves, or took out costly payday loans, to cover the upfront fees.
What they received in return were substandard digital images that offered virtually no prospect of genuine professional work.
Foster splashed his share of the proceeds on luxury watches and expensive cars.
Many of those he defrauded reported being left in financial ruin, telling NTS investigators they felt humiliated, betrayed and emotionally shattered by the experience.
His arrest makes him the fourth individual featured in the NCA’s recent most wanted campaign to be taken into custody.
The agency confirmed formal extradition proceedings are now in progress to bring him back to Britain, where he faces serving his eight-and-a-half-year sentence.
The case follows years of warnings from consumer experts about bogus modelling agencies targeting aspiring models and their families.
This Morning consumer expert Alice Beer has previously highlighted child modelling scams on the ITV programme, including cases involving parents targeted by cold calls or social media promotions and persuaded to pay hundreds of pounds for supposed portfolio shoots.
The National Crime Agency confirmed extradition proceedings are under way to return Foster to Britain
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GETTY
Ms Beer has warned fraudsters can exploit parents’ hopes of securing opportunities for their children, despite the expensive photographs ultimately leading to no genuine modelling work.
Similar tactics have also been explored on the BBC consumer series The Real Hustle, which featured Jessica-Jane Clement and demonstrated how bogus talent scouts and audition schemes could persuade hopeful performers to part with large upfront fees.
Consumer watchdogs continue to warn demands for substantial upfront payments can be a major red flag, particularly when supposed agencies promise lucrative work or claim an opportunity will disappear unless money is handed over immediately.
Victims can also face aggressive attempts to sell increasingly expensive photography packages, with some schemes demanding thousands of pounds for portfolios and other services that provide little or no genuine route into the industry.
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