Big Marketing Guru Busted by Feds!

The guy was certainly shady. Nice to see that things do eventually catch up with people who take advantage of the good and trusting nature of most people. To prey on desperate folks who are looking for ways out their financial problems is terrible.

Spend time on this forum and you'll find plenty of legitimate opportunities and great information. Thanks for sharing this post.

So do I. After all, it made me a little over $10,000 during the six months I used it.

Don made me a lot more money with that than any other product I'd ever bought, most of them a lot more expensive, some of them over ten times the price. I've always counted him as my first IM mentor.

I don't know. Just seems a little unfair to write off his whole career as a worthless scam over what amounts to a stupid mistake over white-label vitamin products. Don wasn't the only guy taken in by the hype around selling health supplements; there are probably a dozen or more old-school warriors here who did the same, just not at the sheer scale Don did.

Me three. I can remember seeing those while sitting up trying to figure out some new program (like frontpage or dreamweaver - LOL). I still remember thinking, classified ads cost money, potentially lots of money.
Well this ain't for me. Seriously, it amazes me what people will fall for, and it angers me that so many take advantage of those who are in a place of desperation to make a dollar selling some worthless crap. Glad he got busted. Maybe there is a lesson there for some.

He truly deserves it. You have to treat your customer like gold. You can't sell crap, and you can't always ask for more and more money. He's just one of those idiots that is trying to take every cent out of a customer.

What do you base this on? Did you try his method or are you just assuming that it was a scam and stating your assumption as a fact?

Janet,
I still read them. I'm still very attached to my daily newspaper, and I get much better 'local' info from there than I do on the web.

Besides which... you should see the stuff people GIVE AWAY... patio block, fencing, all kinds of household stuff (I'm always working on the house and yard)...

And not everyone knows about Craigslist and FreeCycle to post there to give their stuff away, or if they do, they're afraid to post on the "Internet" because then 'strangers' will have their address and hunt them down and kill them, or worse... have their email address and send them SPAM.

-Dani

No they still work very well, otherwise people wouldn't waste money placing them. That's why Nigerian dead rich Uncle scams still go about and why I get 20 useless viagra ads in my inbox a day.

If those scams still get people falling for them, why on earth would classified ads not work? If they died 11 years ago, why are people still placing them?

Hi,

I agree because the verdict is not out yet.

However, everyone has the right to express their opinions,
whether positive or negative.

With that amount of info, it is their values that spoke out.

So, if there are no conversations about this matter,
their opinions and speculations will remain as they are.

When there are discussions, there would always be something
to learn. From it, people may change their minds.

lol .... that 1 special person from 1,000 would be the best scammer.

just kidding.

+1.

There's a saying in Chinese that goes "a woman's money is the easiest to profit from." And this was my Chinese gf at the time telling me this.


I vaguely remember those classified ad commercials. Its funny how I still scoffed and made the assumption reading the OP "bah it was just a scam after all".

Then I read about warriors who actually made money following the system, only after which I stop to think about the demographic now and at the time of release, to realize how it was a goods exchange system that was unparralleled esp before the internet...

Guess I got a lot to learn about direct marketing. I'm still making a lot of assumptions without considering stats or possibilities.

I didn't read the indictment but my understanding is that he's getting nailed for selling the biz opp not that product/vitamins where worthless. I have no idea. But he was selling folks their own Internet business selling the vitamins.

I have a friend who got into that but with Herbalife. Not sure if it's similar or not but he never made any money (lost money yes) in the Herbalief MLM business.

Note... I bought the tiny classified ads in the late 90's off of eBay not the TV. Seemed like good information. I never tried it so I never made any money but that's not my fault. It's that Don Lapre scammer.

I LOVE it! You are exactly right.

Big infomercials - big claims of profit - and ignoring massive customer complaints....not a good combination.

Lapre is the ultimate pitchman with constant upsells - and this time he may have gone too far. I've seen some of his infomercials - he's like a make money marketer on steroids.

Be interesting to see how it ends up.

kay

Dean,

Great idea. And it was right in front of my nose.... aarrrggghhhh.

I'm sure it did well. Especially with the economic and job situation we're in.

Kevin

I made a ton of money off Brad richdales course (over $100,000) and am even using the information he gave me to develop another product which should be released in the next few months, but even he was nabbed by the feds and I gave him a statement of my earnings and success with his program to back up his program and defense with the feds.

I think half the problem is 97% dont take action and then blame everyone but themselves.

I also had Don Lapres classifieds ads course and thought it was well worth the money that course also got him into trouble, this is the second issue with the feds for him.

Gaz Cooper

Please remember we don't know all the facts. Some people in this thread stood up for Don, saying his stuff helped them. He may have done some wrong but it is clear he also helped people.

Besides -- products don't help people, only action helps.

And how do you know Don Lapre is such a scammer? I know that the things he has sold in the past have made a lot of people a lot of money. You can't just assume just because someone is indicted by our wonderful (*cough*) U.S. Government that they are automatically guilty.

If you think gurus have a lock on shady practices, and judging by a few of the comments on this thread Don has delivered the goods in a satisfactiory way to many, take a look at this...

The product is a made for TV promotion. It's an automatic stirrer for cooking food. Just read the comments...

RoboStir reviews, complaints, does it work, scam, where to buy, videos and more. - As Seen On TV Product Reviews

~Bill

Gee Thanks . . . Many thanks for posting the Don Lapre Classifieds video. Great stuff and an inspiration.

Based in the United Kingdom I don't get to see the late, late TV Infomercials as much as I would really like. I love this stuff and it is great to see how these guys make a pitch.

Another thing I miss here in the UK is the fantastic range of money making and opportunity magazines. I get some through once in a while . . . but never enough.

I find all this marketing stuff an inspiration and a great brainstormer.

Be seeing you . . .

lol. They must be the greatest vitamins in the world. All the females in the video have the hugest breasts in the world ... literally spilling out of their
blouses.

Josh,

There is no sham with what the video presented, especially the talking head. She is stating facts about nutrition - natural enzymes, pro-biotics, minerals and etc. So far the facts are ok.

What matter most is whether the product would do what it claims to do.

Maybe these claims have angered some mighty drug corporations.

A bit off-topic, but...

This is exactly my issue with MLM. I don't like the MLM business model because it seems so scammy to me. There HAVE been a lot of MLM scams, but you can't argue with legitimate MLM's like Amway or Herbalife. But there's just something about making most of your money from recruiting distributors instead of actually selling the product or service that's fishy. It seems more scammy than anything else.

(That and selling to your family and friends. Blech!)

As for Don Lapre, I never bought any of his stuff. Like Jason Mo, I was in my late teens or early 20's and was just DYING to get his classified ads course, but couldn't afford it at the time. His infomercials had me hypnotized. I'd say they marked the start of my learning about direct marketing.

Of course, I've learned a lot since then. I DID start out with learning about mail order and classified ads -- but I learned from Melvin Powers, not Don Lapre. Melvin Powers was a very savvy marketer, but without the slick, used-car salesman quality about his stuff.

I then moved on to a much more intense and rounded study of direct marketing (from Dan Kennedy) and then IM.

I just became a member of Dan Kennedy's Glazer-Kennedy Insider Circle. There's even a local chapter nearby that holds meetings once a month.

Michelle

Somebody has to be thrown under the bus.

Surely you weren't expecting any volunteers, now were you...:rolleyes:

~Bill

Paving the way for an industry that is fraught with lies and scams is not great accomplishment and didn't do the industry any good. Of course, he is not solely responsible for the reputation this industry has. There have been others to pick up the ball and run with it and it is precisely why Google is taking down Youtube videos and changing it's algorithm, the FTC is hot on the trail of MMO scams and has created more rules for people to follow, Craiglist "ghosts" a lot ads, etc.

As for how many WSOs/Infoproducts have you purchased that promise 10K/mo with little to no effort on your part with their amazing, underground, top secret.... NONE ... ZERO ... It takes a certain lack of common sense and gullibility that I don't possess to fall for outrageous claims.

Many have said they made money with his tiny little ads, but it's fairly obvious that not all of his MMO products are as transparent as that one.

He did not pave any part of the path followed by my company...

However, I have over the years enjoyed doing impressions of his early ads. I must admit that Don's voice and animated antics have provided me much entertainment...

... so have Casey Kasem and Shaggy from Skooby Doo who's voice I also like to do impressions of.

If this were true, craigslist, backpage and Kijji wouldn't be raking in the money they are - backpage made over 10 million last year from one section of their site. And you wouldn't see giant ads for kijiji in google vids or along side them. You don't spend that kinda cash for advertising a classifieds site if you're not making money from it and people aren't using it. Willie Crawford has a book or something about using craigslist (can't remember what it is or what it's for right now) ... think it had something to do with finding people to do work for him - someone correct me if I'm wrong, but it had something to do with craigslist. So if Willie is using classifieds to find something, there are others doing the same.

As for the topic at hand, I pass no judgment on Don Lapre, he's a slick salesman and if people feel duped, it's usually due to their own ignorance. Isn't all his old stuff, not actually his anymore? Didn't he sell it someone way back when? I seem to recall reading something about that a few years ago and even then there were a bunch of problems of all these false claims being made and he was getting into trouble over it still .. this could be why too that the FEDS pounced on him with this new program.

There isn't any cure for hair loss.

It can be dramatically slowed down though, that's a fact and is clinically proven.

Finasteride is FDA approved for hair loss, but Dutasteride (Avodart) is superior despite it not being FDA approved.

On clinical trials Dutasteride (Avodart) has always been far more effective.

Most young guys don't have to be bald if they don't want to, if they use Dutasteride and Minoxidil they'll have most of their hair intact for a very long time.

They can cover up any thinning by using Nanogen Fibres.

Hair extensions are fantastic, there are many options available and a guy who's balding can appear to have more hair than a guy who isn't balding.

If a guy has already lost most of his hair, there are a lot of reputable, world class surgeons who can do incredible hair transplants these days.

There's no cure for hair loss yet, but I do believe that any guy who doesn't want to be bald doesn't have to be.

It just requires a bit of investment, and determination.

I thought you might like it.

I guess my training from Gary Halbert, Robert Collier, Joe Sugarman, John Caples, Gary Bencivenga, Dan Kennedy, Claude Hopkins, Robert B. Cialdini and David Ogilvy is finally paying off.

I follow most of your post and enjoy reading your copy. I liked your version better.

The pen is mightier than the sword. Edward Bulwer-Lytton

Very true indeed. I'll take copy-writing over any internet skills, period.

Edit: Headline changed per "The Copy Nazi".

13 complaints at the BBB? That didn't get him in trouble I'm sure.

Greatest Vitamin in the World Review - BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY COS. in Chandler, AZ - BBB Business Review - BBB serving Central, Northern and Western Arizona

The report said

Everything I've read points to the one thing that probably was the cause of his downfall. Greed. He didn't refund when asked and people had to go through hell to try and get their money back. Worse the product/s didn't deliver, but ignoring customers and making it all but impossible for them to get satisfaction is probably what did it.

I've purchased crappy products before. One in particular from a known internet marketer soured me. It was pure garbage in my opinion. Still , that marketer cheerfully ( as far as I know ) instantly refunded when asked.

I might look at future offers from that marketer with a careful eye, but I am not about to report him/her to any authorities. I have no cause to do so. In fact, if that marketer does create something I think is good, I know I have no risk despite my concerns.

Lapre crossed the line by not refunding when asked. He over promised and under delivered which generated the refund requests. People thought all they had to do was but the "widget" , push a button, and they would instantly see money flowing into their bank account. He made them think this way and the less savvy ate it up.

Kevin Trudeau has spent time in Federal Prison (two years I believe), and was just recently arrested again as well.

He has been banned from promoting or selling any products aside from those that are specifically protected by his 1st amendment rights -which is why he basically only does books.

Sure, in some sense Adsense publishers are participating in direct marketing. So are the United States Post Office and most phone service providers if you're going to look at it that way.

But they're not playing the same role in direct marketing as a direct marketer does.

Heck, you could also say that the Ford Motor Company is directly participating in drug trafficking or pizza delivery since the cars they manufacture have been used to transport both cocaine, and pizzas.

VERY good points Bruce and I agree with you.

Wait, I'm in government? When did that happen?

Posts like this make me wish I could allocate all 25 of my 'allotted' daily 'thanks' to just one post... and then I'd do it again the next day too.

-Dani

What luck for rulers that men do not think. -Adolf Hitler

Gotta hand it to you-you know how to write a popular rant-though to be fair, whenever you attack government, it's a safe bet some cheers will erupt. Seems there is never a shortage of people willing to jump on the "I hate our evil government-it's the enemy and must be stopped" bandwagon.

But where does your rant lead, if followed to it's logical conclusion?

Is it not simply a generalized attack on the legitimacy of the US government to regulate behavior at all-since there are always flawed people running it? This is a road that would lead to the end of civil society in the USA. To go down it is in effect, to say, "Let us have a completely lawless society, until we can purge everyone who is imperfect from the government".

Either the guy is guilty or not-declaring one way or the other is premature, but I shudder to think of living in a country where the law of the jungle prevails because those that hate government finally got their way, and stripped it of it's authority to enact and enforce a criminal code.

The 2 stage deregulation of the banking industry by people in government that were of the "I hate government, and only ran for office so I could sabotage it" school of thought, was an unmitigated disaster that we will be trying to recover from for a good long time.

BTW, I don't believe Lapre is being charged with "stupid things". That is not a crime, but I have a feeling that the phrase is code for "crimes", and no, we have not all done that, unless you count speeding, jaywalking etc. Not all marketers commit fraud; that goes beyond "stupid things", into "ripping people off", and personally, I'm glad there are laws against it.

Maybe DL is guilty, and maybe not, but to imply that because some legislator is guilty of sexual misconduct, therefore it is wrong that the government can put someone on trial for fraud, is at least as reckless and absurd as calling for blood just because you suspect someone is guilty.

DL's guilt or innocence should be the only issue. If he's guilty, he should be punished-if not, he should be exonerated. It has nothing to do with taking sides or licking boots. I've been mistreated by cops, but that doesn't mean I'm licking the boot that kicks me when I say I support them in their rightful job function of making the streets safe.

After the Rodney King beating, did you call for putting an end to having cops on the street, because, "look how terribly they behave-who are they to judge me"? That would be equally as absurd as saying, "a congressman exposed himself, therefore DL should go free".

No No! Keep sending them! The videos too! They're making me a fortune on those gay male dating site CPA offers that I'm spamming Craigslist with!

-Dani

J/K... everyone knows I only promote fetish site CPA offers... sheesh,

Kidding again, it's 1am and I'm in a silly mood. lol.

CD, thanks for the Amazon gift.

Original Dept of Justice release:
USDOJ: US Attorney's Office - District of Arizona- Latest News

Looks like the major problem (if true) could be this:

"Lapre fraudulently provided his investor/victims, known as "Independent Advertisers" (IAs), with false vitamin sales records. These records encouraged IAs to purchase additional advertising and services in the hope of obtaining commissions including $1,000 checks. Lapre also fraudulently sold bulk Internet traffic to IAs while claiming that it was targeted to individuals who were seeking to either buy vitamins or invest in similar businesses."

I bed is better then having cell mates

It just occurred to me how funny it is that they specified "1 bed", instead of just saying he faces a 25 year prison term. In prison, you only get more than one bed if you have cell mates, although reading the headline, it almost sounds like a hardship. Personally, I'd prefer a 1 bed cell, (depending on the cellmate/s it could be 1000 times better!), so I'm happy for him that at least he has that to look forward to.

I realize he hasn't been found guilty, so might not go at all-so nitpickers just hush up!

Mary

I bought a bunch of this guys stuff. I bought the classified ads course which basically teaches you how to run a mail order business selling printed info products that you create and the classifieds ads were simply your traffic source. so no scam there.

Does anyone remember when Don came on the scene of the infomercial world? He was selling a course that taught you how to be a HUD(housing and urban development) refund tracer. You would obtain lists of people who were due a refund on their mortgage loans but never claimed it and they would be real lists you had to pay for from HUD. You then learned a few techniques to track these people down as most had moved. Since you help them get the refund they forgot they had coming they give you a cut for helping them get it and I believed they taught using a bank escrow account so you get paid.

Anyway when I was into internet marketing years later I thought I would make this product into a clickbank course but of course I had to rewrite his course in my own words and nothing was his idea it was basic stuff. But I was lazy then and never finished and moved on to other stuff. After reading this thread I checked to see if I still had the domain and I do with a partial webpage I was playing around with here:
processmortgagerefunds.com

I also bought the rights to air his 30 minute infomercial for the classified ads but could never come up with the cash to afford 30 minutes on tv. I bought his 900# 2 minute commercials and aired one locally. I was about 18 years old and I payed a whopping $800 for the cheapest time slots. My commission check was for $1.06 I still have it. Did I give up?, never. The alternative of living my life making some elses dreams come true was a scary future to me.

Back then internet marketing types were called direct marketers or mail order entreprenuers. I credit Don with giving me the dream of financial freedom which I now have acheived in a small way meaning I'm nowhere near rich but I work from home a few hours a week and make more than double I did at any job. I'm free of traffic also and lovin' it!

When Don got into the vitamins I lost interest as I thought it was MLM.

Mike

hell yeah - the federal gov't scares the hell outta me... they can snatch your life away in a heartbeat...

Pretty much what I was thinking.

All it takes is a handful of bitter people who don't want to believe the success stories. After all, if it didn't work for them it won't work for anyone.

McCorkle is still in prison. His wife, Chantal, managed to get transferred to the UK and she's since been released.

What on earth does drug cartels and wall street have to do with Don Lapre getting indicted on fraud? Just because there are other people who commit crimes, his should be ignored? Why is that? Because he's a marketer? The drug cartels are marketers too. They market drugs.

Don Lapre will be found guilty or innocent based on the crimes he committed ... not on all the evil in the world.

Well, the allegations are more like this.

Don Lapre told people they could do X, Y, and Z to make money.

What he did not tell them was that doing X, Y, and Z was difficult and complicated.

When they ordered the course, the operator would say "do you want us to make X, Y, and Z less difficult and complicated for you?"

And, of course, you would want that... so a lot of people gave him the money for X, Y, and Z.

And when he provided X, Y, and Z, people didn't make much money because he didn't do a very good job.

Nothing he said was strictly speaking a lie. He'd say "buy this, do that, and when this happens you get money." So you'd want to "buy this" for $50, and he'd offer to "do that" for $2,500. And you'd think "well, I'll get money when this happens" and give him the money. But then it doesn't happen.

Now, if you didn't pay him to "do that" for you, then you only paid the $50. And if you go on to "do that" well, then "this happens" and you make money. Many people had this exact experience and sent him a testimonial.

But if you DID pay him to "do that" for you, he didn't do a very good job. He did do it, just not very well, and chances are "this happens" never came around so you didn't make any money.

And the primary allegation is that he should have done a better job and, indeed, that he knew the job he was doing would never pay anyone any money.

That's the major issue at hand: should Don have done a better job than he did to earn people money? Did he in fact discharge his duties responsibly?

There's really very little issue around the $50. The issue is that you call up to spend $50, they talk you into spending $2,500 instead, and then you don't get what you think you're paying for. You get what they promise, but you think they promised something else - and they allegedly knew all along that you thought they promised something else. So the primary charge is that because he knew what you thought you were buying, he was fraudulent in failing to provide it.

Everything else basically falls out of that, so in the absence of a guilty verdict there, it pretty much all goes away. And nobody really cares about the outcome anyway - the big news is that he was indicted, and they'll drag their feet until people stop caring just in case they fail to get a conviction. Don will probably go free, in the end, or at least get a dramatically reduced or suspended sentence... but that won't be headline news.

He was sentenced to 28 and after 2 appeals, it was reduced to 18. He could have been out in 5 had he taken the prosecutor's deal.

He was indicted on whatever they could find to indict him on.

-Dani

I disagree, Tony Little has THE most annoying voice on TV, reminds me of a well known guru .. I had to quit his course after one night, he sounded like Tony Little on speed lol. When you're too hypey, I bail .. just be yourself.

I think he's been indicted a couple times, but not convicted as I recall.

You gotta love a guy that recruits a Playboy playmate to talk about credit issues (I think that was the topic-"what "they" don't want you to know..." Next time I want financial advice, I'm calling that playmate!

I'd rather buy something from Don Lapre than Kevin Trudeau. Don't trust that guy at all.

How about those charlatans who sold tickets to flying saucer rides, which were supposed to happen during the "Harmonic Convergence", at several hundred (or was it thousands?), and then when the saucers failed to appear, they told the buyers their tickets were open-ended, and would be good whenever the tardy ships arrive.

What? People have no free will? Misled? Into believing the world would end on a certain date? Okay. Maybe there should be laws against plain stupidity... :rolleyes:

I wouldn't. With that much money, I can pay someone else to handle it for me.

Besides, most dollar bills have been in people's noses.

Too bad it's a piece of crap, someone bought me one once for a gag gift, because they know I love cooking, tried it 3 times and the darn thing broke. Ron Popiel (sp??) used to get on my nerves and unfortunately he's still on TV, but the most comical dude was the Ginsu knives guy ... surprisingly though, the knives were actually pretty darn good.

And let's not forget Anthony Sullivan - RoboStir lol that's the guy that took over for Billy Mays - Oxiclean. But I have to say out of all the infomercials that annoy me the most, it is ProActive and is on every 5 mins .. UGH.

They work, however they also only work for so long, after a while things catch up with you, just like in this scenario and in the scenario's we are seeing with all the big sites cracking down on content. I'm not passing judgment on any of these guys at all, nor would I call them scammers, they are indeed good sales people that we can learn from.

However, selling cheaply made products or misleading products isn't the way to go .. it's like selling spun articles and sorry if anyone gets mad, I'll say selling PLR and scraper content too or the tools that coincide with them. I pride myself in that my work is all original and don't have issues like I see going on here quite frequently. I'd rather be around a long time and make money that I can leave behind for my kids and grandkids to spend, then sell a bunch of poorly made products and have the FEDS on my ass and risk going to jail for life.

I look at that with a different eye. You don't have to subscribe to the "I got mine Jack" school of economics. I have to self motivate because there isn't anyone else around here to do it for me. My very 1st internet anything was scribbled on a napkin at Bob's Bigboy in 1998. Before that idea played out I had a net4 of $1,000. I took a piece of poster board and handmade me a little sign that said "I can do better". Today things are different. Different house, different office, etc. but I still have that sign and I still look at it daily. Better products, better customer service, better marketing, better everything. The toughest competitor I have is ME!

Thomas

I don't know if you are directing your comment at me Thomas, however, I wasn't suggesting that all obnoxious commercials were bad products, I use oxyclean, have Ginsu knives, neither were crappy products. However, the majority of them are cheaply made. I do however disagree with, "great products guaranteeing nothing." Most of the items I have in my home are certain brands that I continue to buy based on them being great .. none of which consist of sears or nokia, although sears does make a damn good mattress that I'm seriously considering buying but it would be the only thing I bought from them, as I don't have much interest in anything else they sell. And in my business, selling people great products, keeps the customers coming back.

I think some people would be very surprised if they knew
who all WAS here at the WF.

how many IM products have you bought ( sold ) that are junk?
Bought 1 that wasn't very good and many that are pure gold. Sold none that were junk. And you?

how many article spinner software products have you sold when you knew that they would get the articles banned/shunned by google but just wanted the money
None. I don't promote products that are crap just for the money and a lot of people here do not promote products that are crap just for the money.

Don't paint all marketers with the same brush, because it simply isn't accurate.