Don Lapre, best known for his infomercials selling “The Greatest Vitamin in the World” and facing a fraud trial that could land him in jail for 60 years, committed suicide two weeks ago in an Arizona jail cell.
The sad moral of this story is that “wonder drug” salesmen can fall victim to their own schemes just as readily as the people they bilk.
Don Lapre was a high-school dropout who made millions as a TV infomercial huckster who claimed, among other schemes, to have a wonder vitamin that was all a person needed for optimal health. “Nothing like this has ever been created until now!” said his now defunct website which claimed that the pill included all kinds of ingredients lacking in other vitamins.
For instance, he claimed his wonder vitamin contained plant-derived enzymes (an analysis of the product found that a person could get an even higher amount of the same enzymes by eating a normal diet that includes fruits and vegetable); nine probiotic bacteria (medical research shows that the only people who benefit from probiotic supplements are those who have certain digestive disorders); 11 vitamins and minerals (all of which are contained in the same doses found in typical multivitamin products); a whole food blend of vegetable, fruit and grain ingredients (at an amount that is easily consumed in a normal healthy diet); and other herbal ingredients (which may be helpful to some but could cause adverse reactions in others).
What got Lapre and his organization into trouble is the claim that this vitamin could be used to prevent or treat serious conditions such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, depression, vision loss, and immune problems as well as other problems such as stress, obesity, acne, and arthritis.
In 2005, the FDA ordered Lapre to stop making these claims. He responded by making superficial changes to the language in his product brochures and descriptions but continued to feature testimonials on his website from people claiming to have been healed from these conditions. This prompted a second order from the FDA, this one issued in 2006, warning him about these unsubstantiated claims continuing to be made on his website.
But this didn’t stop Lapre from making millions off this bogus product until his shady marketing scheme caused him to be shut down by the feds. They indicted him on 41 counts of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and promotional money laundering in June of this year. During the course of the Lapre’s scheme, the government says at least 220,000 victims were defrauded of nearly $52 million.
Apparently, Lapre had contrived a scheme in which he solicited consumers to become his partner in the vitamin sales by offering to pay them up to $1,000 if they got 20 people to buy the product. Interested consumers paid him $35 to take up the challenge, which he claimed was easy because all they had to do was direct the person to their website which was designed to persuade them to buy the product. Lapre made all kinds of “too good to be true” offers to potential “partners” in the scheme such as promising to pay people up to $100 a month for the rest of their lives for every time they signed up 20 new people to buy the vitamin. He promised to pay them every week for the earnings they made the week before and claimed that their “top people” made thousands by doing this. Bonuses of up to $5,000 were also offered for signing up to 100 new vitamin clients.
According to the Better Business Bureau, Lapre made good on none of these claims.
Lapre’s business collapsed when he was arrested. Sadly, just before his trial was to begin, the 47 year-old came to a tragic end in an Arizona prison cell where he took his own life. Let us all pray for his soul.
We must also use this story as a reason to become better informed consumers, which will make it very difficult for the Don Lapres of the world to get themselves, and so many vulnerable people, into trouble. This is easy to do. If you’re ever in doubt about a product, simply type it’s name into a search engine followed by the word “scam” or “fraud” and see what comes up. I use this method before buying anything from a television ad or website – from pasta cookers to gutter sealers – and many times decide against a purchase because of what other consumers have said about the product.
This is even more important when it comes to something you ingest. Look before you leap!
