Don Lapre
{{short description|American salesman (1964–2011)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Don Lapre
| image = Donlapre copy 320x240.jpg
| image_size =
| caption =
| birth_name = Donald D. Lapre
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1964|5|19}}
| birth_place = Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2011|10|2|1964|5|19}}
| death_place = Florence, Arizona, U.S.
| years_active = 1988{{ndash}}2011
| spouse = Sally Redondo (m. 1988)
| occupation = Television direct-response pitchman
}}
Donald D. Lapre (May 19, 1964{{spaced ndash}}October 2, 2011){{cite web|url=http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/justice/incarcerated-tv-pitchman-don-lapre-death-10-2-2011 |title=Incarcerated TV Pitchman Don Lapre Found Dead |accessdate=October 3, 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004021631/http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/justice/incarcerated-tv-pitchman-don-lapre-death-10-2-2011 |archivedate=October 4, 2011 }} was an American multi-level marketing and infomercial salesman. His work involved product packages such as "The Greatest Vitamin in the World" and "Making Money Secrets".
Lapre was criticized as selling questionable business plans that often did not work for his clients. In June 2011, Lapre was charged with 41 counts of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, and promotional money laundering related to his Internet businesses. He was arrested on June 24, 2011, for failing to appear in court to face these charges.{{cite news|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5itB9WHOh4bkgXfEJh0Z3T2KIPpFw?docId=2f42773b2eca4709a3f9b424845bca55|title=TV pitchman arrested after missing appearance|agency=Associated Press|date=June 23, 2011}}{{dead link|date=June 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
He died on October 2, 2011, while in jail awaiting trial. The autopsy report stated that he died of blood loss after cutting his throat with a razor blade.
Business ventures
Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Lapre moved to Phoenix, Arizona, with his family when he was a child. He married Sally Redondo in 1988.{{cite web|url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20536466,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111017113049/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20536466,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 17, 2011|author=Davhi Shira|title=INSIDE STORY: Infomercial King Don Lapre's High-Octane Life – and Shocking Suicide|access-date=2015-01-16|work=People Magazine|publisher=People}} A high-school dropout,{{cite web|url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/issues/2000-01-13/feature.html/page2.html|author=Leigh Farr|title=Don Wan|accessdate=2007-03-12|work=Phoenix New Times|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20000824160429/http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/issues/2000-01-13/feature.html/page2.html|archivedate=2000-08-24}} Lapre, together with his wife, started a credit repair business called Unknown Concepts in 1990. Lapre then began selling a 36-page booklet explaining how to recover a Federal Housing Administration insurance refund after paying off a home mortgage. He also began offering "900" phone lines. On TV infomercials in the early–mid 1990s, he claimed that by placing "tiny classified ads" in newspapers he was "able to make $50,000 a week from [his] tiny one-bedroom apartment".{{YouTube|mubCkCAEiDQ|Don Lapre Sells Tiny Classified Ads}}
In 1992, Lapre began broadcasting The Making Money Show with Don Lapre, which suggested that viewers could make money as easily as he had. For several years the show was ranked among the 10 most frequently broadcast cable television infomercials. The principal product was Lapre's "Money Making Secrets", a package of booklets, tapes, and common-sense tips for placing ads and operating a 900-number business. The product was sold through New Strategies, whose parent company was Tropical Beaches.
He later began broadcasting infomercials for "The Greatest Vitamin in the World".{{YouTube|SWQE79kwbKc|Don Lapre Sells Greatest Vitamin in the World}} In 2005, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned Lapre about claims his vitamins were intended as a drug for diseases such as diabetes, stroke, heart disease, insomnia, cancer, and arthritis. The FDA stated "[his] products [were] not generally recognized as safe and effective for the above referenced conditions."{{cite web|url=https://www.fda.gov/Cder/warn/cyber/2006/Cyber.pdf |title=Cyber Letters |website=Fda.gov |date=2015-06-30 |accessdate=2016-06-02}} In 2006, the FDA again warned Lapre about untruthful claims.{{cite web|url=https://www.fda.gov/cder/warn/cyber/2005/CL169e.pdf |title=Cyber Letters |website=Fda.gov |date=2015-06-30 |accessdate=2016-06-02}}
Charges
According to a June 15, 2011, Associated Press article, Lapre was indicted by a federal grand jury in Phoenix, Arizona, on June 8, 2011, on accusations of running a nationwide scheme to sell worthless Internet businesses. Federal prosecutors accused Lapre of bilking more than 220,000 victims out of nearly $52 million. He was charged with 41 counts of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, promotional money laundering, and transactional money laundering.{{cite web|author=Jun. 15, 2011 10:59 AM Associated Press |url=http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2011/06/15/20110615phoenix-pitchman-arrest-web-scheme.html |title=Phoenix-based TV pitchman Donald Lapre accused of bilking 220,000 out of $52M |publisher=Azcentral.com |date=2011-06-15 |accessdate=2011-11-05}}{{cite web|url=https://www.casewatch.net/doj/lapre/indictment.pdf |title=United States of America v. Donald Lapre |website=Casewatch.net |accessdate=2016-06-02}}{{cite web |url=https://www.cnbc.com/id/43413517 |title=News Headlines |publisher=CNBC |date=2011-06-15 |access-date=2011-11-05 }} A federal judge issued a bench warrant for Lapre on June 22, 2011, after he failed to appear at his arraignment.{{cite web | url=https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/don-lapre-vitamin-titan-attempted-suicide-hid-out-at-lifetime-fitness-6500026 | title=Don Lapre, Vitamin Titan, Attempted Suicide, Hid Out at Lifetime Fitness }}{{cite web|url=http://www.sacbee.com/2011/06/23/3722483/tv-pitchman-no-show-at-federal.html |title=TV pitchman arrested after missing appearance - Wire TV News - sacbee.com |accessdate=June 23, 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110626115815/http://www.sacbee.com/2011/06/23/3722483/tv-pitchman-no-show-at-federal.html |archivedate=June 26, 2011 }}
On June 27, 2011, Lapre was arrested in Tempe, Arizona, at a Life Time Fitness center, where he had reportedly lived for two days, with serious self-inflicted knife wounds to his groin. The wounds led authorities to believe Lapre had attempted suicide while at Life Time Fitness by attempting to sever the femoral artery in his legs.{{cite web |url=http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_southeast_valley/tempe/u.s.-marshals%3A-phoenix-pitchman-found-with-deep-wounds-near-tempe-lifetime-fitness-where-he-hid-out |title=U.S. Marshals: Phoenix-based pitchman found wounded near Tempe gym where he hid out |accessdate=June 28, 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005145937/http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_southeast_valley/tempe/u.s.-marshals%3A-phoenix-pitchman-found-with-deep-wounds-near-tempe-lifetime-fitness-where-he-hid-out |archivedate=October 5, 2011 }}
In popular culture
- David Spade appeared in two sketches parodying Don Lapre on Saturday Night Live.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}
- John C. McGinley played Dick Dupre, a spoof of Don Lapre and his astrologer Melissa Lipnutz, in the film Puff, Puff, Pass.
- Chat Pile’s 2022 song "Tropical Beaches, Inc." is about Don Lapre.
Death
Lapre was found dead on October 2, 2011, while in jail awaiting his trial, which was scheduled to begin on October 4, 2011. The autopsy report stated that he died of massive blood loss after cutting his throat with a razor blade and had wrapped himself in sheets to conceal the massive blood loss from anyone who might try to save him.{{cite web|url=http://sflchronicle.com/news/2011/10/update-king-of-infomercials-don-lapre-used-a-razor-blade-to-kill-himself/ |title=King Of Infomercials Don Lapre Used A Razor Blade To Kill Himself | South Florida Chronicle |publisher=Sflchronicle.com |date=October 5, 2011 |accessdate=November 5, 2011 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425084855/http://sflchronicle.com/news/2011/10/update-king-of-infomercials-don-lapre-used-a-razor-blade-to-kill-himself/ |archivedate=April 25, 2012}}
References
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Category:American television personalities
Category:Businesspeople from Providence, Rhode Island
Category:Television personalities from Phoenix, Arizona
Category:Suicides by sharp instrument in the United States
Category:American people who died in prison custody
Category:People who died by suicide in prison custody
Category:Prisoners who died in United States federal government detention