I have just come back from a month with Angel City Flyers so I know them well.
The company is amazingly well organised and I can assure there is no chance of being ripped off. Infact I did my course under the quoted amount!
I did not do the internship idea but did my CFI, CFII and MEI and heard about the Internship thing and think also that it sounds like an amazing way to do it and wish the opportunity had been given to me at the right stage in training.
As far as I know, you can also leave if you think it is not actually the right thing to do and at very little loss and of course you still have the training.
The idea of instruction to get the 1500 hrs is so that the applicant can earn money on his/her way to finallising all the exams, unlike most internships where the student must work free even though he/she is by then a commercial pilot.
Thats what I think anyway, an amazing opportunity and the best of luck to you!!
And hey what a place to live in the meantime!
D