LA Direct Models — Read This Before You Sign
If LA Direct Models or Derek Hay has offered you representation, read this before you sign. On May 28, 2024, Hay pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit pandering and to perjury. He was sentenced to nine months in county jail. The California Attorney General’s case alleged he used LA Direct Models to refer women to an escort service for paid sex acts. Four performers had previously filed Labor Commissioner complaints alleging coerced “work-off” sexual acts for agency fees. This is a documented criminal record.
- Type
- Agency
- Based in
- Los Angeles, CA
- Founded
- 2000
- Parent
- Derek Andrew Hay (stage name Ben English) — founder and owner. British national, former music stage manager.
- Known for
- Long-running LA talent agency with a documented criminal record against its owner
- Status
- Owner convicted May 2024 — conspiracy to commit pandering + perjury. 9-month county jail sentence. Agency operating.
What it is
LA Direct Models is a Los Angeles–based adult talent agency founded in 2000 by Derek Andrew Hay, a British national who performed under the stage name Ben English before founding the agency. Hay worked as a stage manager in London for acts including The Rolling Stones, Queen, and Metallica before moving to the US adult industry.
The agency has been among the larger LA-based adult talent agencies since its founding, with a roster historically including prominent mainstream-industry performers. The agency continues to operate following Hay’s 2024 criminal plea.
How it operates
Standard adult-industry agency model: representation agreements, commission on bookings, logistics handling for scene-based work. Hay has personally handled recruiting and roster management. The agency’s booking relationships span major studios historically.
The criminal-conduct allegations at the center of the 2020 indictment and the 2017 Labor Commissioner complaints describe a parallel business structure: agency clients referred to an affiliated escort service (The Luxury Companion, operated by co-defendants Dwight Cunningham and Karine Michmichian) for paid sex acts, with Hay taking commissions on the referrals. This structure is the basis of the pandering-conspiracy charge Hay pleaded guilty to.
- 2017 · Four adult performers including Charlotte Cross filed complaints with the California Labor Commissioner against LA Direct Models and Derek Hay, alleging unconscionable exclusive multi-year agreements, fee-for-infraction provisions, coercion into 'work-off' sexual acts with Hay in lieu of paying agency fees, and connection to an illegal escort operation. Rolling Stone
- March 2020 · California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced criminal charges against Derek Hay along with Dwight Cunningham and Karine Michmichian for operating an illegal prostitution scheme between 2017 and 2018. The indictment alleged Hay used LA Direct Models to refer female clients to The Luxury Companion, an escort service run by the co-defendants, with commissions on the referrals. California AG — Office of the Attorney General
- May 28, 2024 · Hay pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit pandering and one count of perjury, as part of a plea agreement with the California Attorney General. He was sentenced to 9 months in county jail. Emotional impact statements from adult performers were read at the sentencing hearing. Mark Nicholson Law (representing complainants)
- Ongoing · Civil suits filed by Jane Doe plaintiffs against Hay and LA Direct Models remain in the California court system. Specific case: California Jane Doe 4 Inclusive VS Derek Hay / LA Direct Models (Los Angeles Superior Court). California court filing
Rate structure
Standard agency commission structure is publicly documented; specific rates for LA Direct Models are not disclosed by the agency. The Labor Commissioner filings by Charlotte Cross and other performers allege that contract fees included “unconscionable” charges for minor infractions — shoot cancellations, scheduling issues — with the specific allegation that Hay “coerced performers to either pay in cash, or ‘work-off’ by performing sexual acts on him.”
The scope of the “work-off” allegation separates this from routine fee disputes. These are contemporaneous filings from four identified performers, consistent with the structure that Hay later pleaded guilty to operating on a broader scale.
Contract patterns
The pattern documented in the Labor Commissioner filings centers on “exclusive multi-year agreements” with fee provisions for a wide range of minor contract events. Exclusive representation locks the performer to a single agency; multi-year duration extends the lock-in; and the fee structure creates leverage that, per the complaints, was used to pressure performers into sexual acts with the agent.
These filings predate the criminal indictment but describe the same power dynamic the AG case eventually charged. The conviction confirms the pattern was not speculative. Any current representation agreement with LA Direct Models should be read against the specific allegations of multi-year exclusivity, fee-for-infraction clauses, and any provision that creates leverage for the agent over the performer outside of standard booking logistics.
- Current ownership and operational structure of LA Direct Models — Hay is the named principal on the criminal case; confirm who is running day-to-day operations post-conviction
- Any exclusive agreement — duration, scope, fee-for-infraction provisions, and termination terms — in writing before signing
- Whether the representation agreement references or requires referrals to any affiliated service — the criminal case was built on referral-commission structure; confirm your contract is representation only
- California talent-agency license status of the current operating entity
- Independent reference you can contact without agency mediation — ideally a former performer who has left and will speak directly
- Pay-flow: whether pay reaches you directly from each production or routes through the agency, and the timing and documentation of every deduction
- Any clause that allows non-monetary settlement of fee disputes — the 'work-off' pattern the performers described was contractually structured; refuse any analog
- No agent, no commission, no referral chain. We book you directly. Your pay comes from us to you.
- No exclusive agreement, no multi-year lock-in. You work with us for the scene we book and that’s the extent of the contract.
- No fee-for-infraction clauses. No cancellation fees. No “work-off” provisions. Nothing in the contract that creates leverage over you outside the scene itself.
- No referral to any other service. We produce. That’s all. No escort-adjacent structures, no side businesses.
- Contract in full before travel, every clause plain-language.
- Porn Performers Accuse LA Models' Derek Hay of Sex Abuse, Trafficking · Rolling Stone
- Attorney General Becerra Announces Criminal Charges in Alleged North Hollywood Prostitution Operation · California AG Office · Mar 2020
- Adult Film Actresses Address Talent Agent During His Sentencing Hearing · Courthouse News Service
- Derek Hay's Sentencing Hearing — Emotional Impact Statements · Mark Nicholson Law · May 2024
- Porn Actresses Accuse Powerful Industry Agent of Fraud, Sex Abuse · NBC Los Angeles
- California Jane Doe 4 Inclusive VS Derek Hay / LA Direct Models — Complaint · California court filing
- Derek Hay — Wikipedia · Wikipedia