BOSTON -- Two men who operated a now-closed Needham modeling agency pleaded guilty Monday to stealing money from 13 prospective models by luring them to the agency through deceptive advertisements, making false statements and representations to the prospective models.

Edriss Farazi, 29, of Framingham, pleaded guilty to 13 counts of charges of larceny over $250, two counts of unemployment fraud, workers' compensation fraud, operating an unlicensed employment/modeling agency and false or fraudulent advertising by an employment agency. Norfolk Superior Court Judge Janet Sanders sentenced Farazi to two and a half years in the house of corrections, six months to serve, with the balance suspended for three years on the felony charge of unemployment fraud.

Farazi must also serve six months in jail on the remaining charges. Sanders also ordered Farazi to pay $6,793.85 in restitution to the victims, to perform 100 hours of community service and have his computer activities monitored.

Farazi's co-defendant, Kevin Caruso, 30, formerly of Natick, Mass., and now of Houston, Texas, also pleaded guilty to four counts of charges of larceny over $250. Sanders sentenced Caruso to two years of probation and also ordered him to pay $2,771 in restitution to the victims. Caruso must also perform 50 hours of community service.

In March 2004, Farazi opened Marvel Models in Needham, after another modeling and talent agency he owned ceased business. Caruso was employed by Farazi at Marvel Models. In April 2004, the Needham Police Department received several complaints about Marvel Models and initiated an inquiry before contacting the attorney general's office.

In an effort to draw in aspiring models to open calls, Farazi sent out Marvel Models talent scouts to movie theaters and malls to recruit would-be models. They trained the scouts to approach likely prospects and ask if they had ever thought about becoming a model. The recruits were then invited back the following day for another meeting with either Farazi or Caruso.

Investigators found that at the open calls, Caruso attempted to persuade aspiring models to sign up for services and have their pictures placed on the Marvel Models Web site for a one-time fee of $595 and a monthly maintenance fee of $19.95. At the open calls, Farazi allegedly told the models that Marvel had been in business for years and had offices worldwide, specifically mentioning non-existent offices in London, Tokyo, Paris and Milan.

After the sales pitch to perspective modeling clients, both Farazi and Caruso met with aspiring models one on one. During those meetings, the pair also allegedly attempted to sell photo shoots for $495. To further induce the models to pay money to Marvel, investigators found that several models were falsely told that Marvel had supplied models for high-end fashion magazines.

Farazi, with Caruso's assistance, lied about the size and breadth of his business clientele and falsely led prospective models to believe that his business was far larger and more successful than it actually was. In total, investigators determined that Farazi stole approximately $10,000 from 13 aspiring models, male and female, ranging in age from 2 to 32.