SAN DIEGO -- A San Diego family says a talent agency promised they could help their son succeed in the entertainment industry, but ended up taking their money.

A talent agency is accused of crushing several San Diego families' dreams of seeing their children become entertainment stars, 10News reported.

Eight-year-old Giovanni Zertuche already knows what he wants to be. "A movie star," he told 10News.

After paying nearly $5,000 upfront to a talent agency called Be Productions to make that happen, the Zertuche family's dream has turned into a financial nightmare.

"I'm really upset; not so much about the money, but because they used my child as bait," said Giovanni's mother, Erika.

The Zertuches are not alone, as 10News' sister station, KGO in San Francisco, uncovered other families who bought the same pitch from Be Productions.

"My son wanted to get in this industry so we took him to a screening test," said Zertuche.

A class-action lawsuit against Be Productions said kids were not chosen for their talent, but on ability to pay.

"The contracts did not comport with the law. The law said they had to do certain things and they just didn't," said class-action attorney Ethan Preston.

The company's brochures and pamphlets all looked first-rate, but Giovanni's father, Angel, said, "Too good to be true. They have a good appearance, a good-selling product and we believed in it."

With services not delivered and the lawsuit, Be Productions is out of business.

The Zertuches did recover some of what they paid for upfront, but it's been an ordeal and then some.

"I'm not giving up. I won't pay upfront … I've learned my lesson now," said Erika Zertuche.

There may be thousands of children and families who were exploited by the company to the tune of $20 million.

If you are a Be Productions customer interested in participating in the lawsuit, e-mail gonnabe@eplaw.us.