Attorney General Phil Weiser announces settlement with talent management company and service provider for unfair lending practices

Attorney General Phil Weiser announces settlement with talent management company and service provider for unfair lending practices

Nov. 10, 2026 (DENVER) - Attorney General Phil Weiser today announced a settlement with Urban Talent Management and Style Incorporated, resolving allegations that the companies engaged in unlawful practices concerning paid training debts from Colorado consumers.

"Debt of any kind can be life-altering," said Attorney General Weiser. "When consumers go to paid trainings in the hopes of advancing their careers, the last thing they expect is for that company to take advantage of them and their money. When a company engages in these unfair lending practices and unlawful contract terms, we will hold them accountable."

This settlement comes after an investigation by the Colorado Department of Law found that Urban Talent Management and Style Incorporated were locking consumers into allegedly unfair contracts, often containing illegal terms such as requiring signees to agree to non-compete and non-disparagement terms. Style provided the training workshops for models and actors. The paid training contracts used allegedly unfair lending practices against these same consumers. This included charging consumers $40 in insufficient funds fees - $15 over the statutory cap of $25 - and charging a late fee the day after a payment's due date, well in advance of the statutorily mandated 10-day waiting period. Additionally, Style charged a 3% fee on credit or debit card payments, not the mandated flat rate of 2%, and failed to provide consumers with proper disclosures required by the state in consumer lending transactions.

According to the settlement (PDF), both Urban Talent Management and Style have agreed to:

• Neither UTM nor Style can offer paid training to consumers in Colorado.
• Style cannot send any accounts to collections that were opened prior to January 27, 2026.
• Both companies will notify affected consumers within 30 days of this settlement, including notifying consumers that they are not bound by the Non-Compete, Non-Disparagement, or No Contact Clauses.
• Style will cease collection efforts on $899,823 worth of consumer debt, impacting approximately 469 consumers.
• Style will pay $10,000 to the state to cover investigation costs.
• Style and UTM will also be subject to a $120,000 suspended penalty, provided that both comply with the terms of the order.

Consumers who believe they are victims of unfair debt collection can file a complaint with the Colorado Attorney General.

###

Media Contact:
Lawrence Pacheco
Chief Communications Officer
(720) 508-6553 office
[email protected]