Don Lapre

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Donald D. Lapre (born May, 1964) is an American high school dropout[1], multi-level marketing salesman and infomercial personality. His work has involved such products as The Greatest Vitamin in the World and Making Money Secrets.

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[edit] Business ventures

In 1990 Lapre and his wife, whom he married in 1988, started a credit repair business called Unknown Concepts. Lapre then began selling a 36-page booklet explaining how to recover a Federal Home Association insurance refund after paying off a home mortgage. He also began offering "900" phone lines.

On TV infomercials that ran during the early-mid 1990s Lapre claimed that by placing "tiny classified ads" in newspapers he was able to make $50,000 per week from his one bedroom apartment.

In 1992, Lapre began broadcasting The Making Money Show with Don Lapre, which promised viewers that they could make money as easily as he had. For several years the show was ranked among the ten 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.[citation needed]

[edit] The Greatest Vitamin in the World

Lapre sought to enter the nutritional supplement market in 1997 and contacted Doug Grant, a well known "vitamin peddler" who was subsequently charged with first-degree murder in July 2005[2], to help him develop one.[3] In January 2003 Torica Productions began operations in Phoenix, Arizona to market their latest product as The Greatest Vitamin in the World which "CBS News Correspondent John Blackstone reports may be the worst deal on earth."[4] A new Don Lapre infomercial soon followed, featuring The Greatest Vitamin in the World and Lapre boasting, that "Nothing like this has ever been seen before in the history of the world!"

In 2005 the Food and Drug Administration warned Lapre about claims his vitamin was intended as a drug for diseases such as diabetes, stroke, heart disease, insomnia, cancer, and arthritis. The FDA stated that; Your products are not generally recognized as safe and effective for the above referenced conditions".[5][6]

In 2006 the Food and Drug Administration again warned Lapre about his drug related claims[7]

As of January, 2008, Lapre's The Greatest Vitamin in the World websites http://www.thegreatestvitaminintheworld.com and http://www.greatestvitaminintheworld.com were not operational.[8].[9]

[edit] Saving Lives Across America

Torica Productions also ran the apparently defunct Saving Lives Across America, which sold whole food Dietary supplements[10]

[edit] Criticism

The Better Business Bureau states that Universal Business Strategies, one of Lapre's now-defunct companies; "has an unsatisfactory record with the Bureau due to unanswered complaints and a pattern of complaints concerning selling practices."[citation needed] Consumer watchdog organizations such as Quackwatch have accused Lapre of peddling get-rich-quick schemes.[11] Websites such as the Ripoff Report have numerous consumer complaints about Lapre and his products and business practices.[12] Lapre is quoted as saying, "...I really don't give a rat's ass about what people think about me."[13]

[edit] Popular culture

David Spade as Don Lapre in a Saturday Night Live sketch.
David Spade as Don Lapre in a Saturday Night Live sketch.

David Spade appeared in two sketches doing an impression of Don Lapre for Saturday Night Live.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Leigh Farr. Don Wan. Phoenix New Times. Retrieved on 2007-03-12.
  2. ^ Timothy Quill, MD and Stephen Barrett, MD. Be Wary of Don Lapre, Doug Grant, and "The Greatest Vitamin in the World". Quackwatch. Retrieved on 2007-03-12.
  3. ^ Nancy Grace. Headline News. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  4. ^ John Blackstone. Get-Rich-Quick Plan A Scam?. CBS Evening News. Retrieved on 2007-03-12.
  5. ^ http://www.fda.gov/Cder/warn/cyber/2006/Cyber.pdf
  6. ^ http://www.fda.gov/cder/warn/cyber/2005/CL169e.pdf
  7. ^ http://www.fda.gov/cder/warn/cyber/2006/Cyber.pdf
  8. ^ N/A. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  9. ^ N/A. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  10. ^ Report: Saving Lives Across America, Torica LLC. Retrieved on 2008-01-22.
  11. ^ Stephen Barrett, MD and Quill, Timothy, MD. Be Wary of Don Lapre, Doug Grant, and "The Greatest Vitamin in the World". Quackwatch. Retrieved on 2007-02-11.
  12. ^ Ripoff Report Search Results: lapre
  13. ^ Leigh Farr. Don Wan. Phoenix New Times. Retrieved on 2007-03-12.
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