Model Emily Scott may sue an Adelaide massage parlour for allegedly using her photo on a leaflet. Picture: Adelaide Now. Source: Sunday Mail (SA)
A flyer from the Adelaide massage parlour. Source: Sunday Mail (SA)
SHE has appeared in countless men's magazines and is a reality television show favourite in Australia and Britain but glamour model Emily Scott is fuming at her latest starring role - as bait to fraudulently lure customers to an Adelaide bikini massage parlour.
The London-based Aussie is considering taking legal action against Bikini Girls massage parlour over its advertising her as "Jess" - a masseuse who offers massages for between $79 and $270 - on crude, photocopied flyers.
Scott's image, lifted from a photograph on the cover of men's magazine Zoo Weekly dating back to January 2007, is among several images of women on the flyer depicted as employees of the massage parlour, run by serial conman Bon Levi.
When the Sunday Mail phoned Bikini Girls to inquire about "Jess" during the week, a female receptionist politely said she would be "starting work at 6 o'clock so come in then".
Scott's Australian-based manager, Pete Sofo, said his model client was taking the issue "very, very seriously".
"Obviously using Emily's image is completely misleading and inappropriate. We have our legal team looking into all of our options," Mr Sofo said.
Scott, 27, who mixes modelling with her new career as a DJ, has appeared on Dancing With The Stars in 2009 and two months ago was among contestants in I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here.
In 2008 she was briefly married to former Five boy band member Ritchie Neville.
Levi, also known as "Ron the Con" Frederick, has used at least 14 aliases in his life, has spent time in Australian and US prisons and was fined last year for numerous breaches of the Fair Trading Act.
He was found to have run misleading advertisements for men and women to work in his Perth "health salon", which failed to mention employees would have to massage naked men and work mostly naked.
An employee at Bikini Girls said yesterday Levi was holidaying in New Zealand and could not be contacted.
Acting deputy Consumer Affairs commissioner Dini Soulio said Levi could have committed an offence under Australian consumer law if he had "misrepresented services" or engaged in "deceptive or misleading conduct".
Mr Soulio said legislation prohibited the office from revealing whether complaints had been made against Bikini Girls and that it was not up to Consumer Affairs to instigate action against the business.
"The models would need to obtain their own legal advice about options that are available to them," he said.
Levi's guerrilla-style advertising campaign for his Port Rd parlour led to more than 100 of the risque flyers showing Scott and other scantily clad models being strewn along the Henley Beach Esplanade this week as families enjoyed their last week of school holidays.
Charles Sturt Council chief executive Mark Withers said the council was disappointed the flyers had been littered along the beachfront.
"Litter affects the look and feel of these areas, and endangers our environment, and flyers of this nature littered across public areas is not appropriate," he said.
dowdella@sundaymail.com.au
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