A master of the TV Infomercial, Don Lapre, has taken his life. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Lapre committed suicide yesterday while in jail waiting for his trial to begin. The trial was scheduled to start tomorrow.
He was famous for pitching "The Greatest Vitamins in the World," which he claimed could treat or cure cancer, blood sugar diabetes, stroke, heart disease cholesterol, sleep problems, depression, and other ailments. According to his company's promotional videos, the vitamins "should cost over $200" because they contain the "most expensive ingredients known to man." In fact, they appear to be similar to the vitamins you'd find at your local pharmacy chain. Our friends at Quackwatch.org have been warning of Lapre's huckstering for a while now.
He was arrested a few months ago and charged with 41 counts of mail fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy and money laundering. He was accused of defrauding 220,000 people out of a staggering $52 million. They were told that by selling his vitamins, they'd earn more money than they actually could. So Lapre scammed his customers twice: first, by falsely claiming his vitamins were all but miracle cures, and then by falsely claiming that if people beneath him on his pyramid scheme sold them, they'd get rich.
He appears to have maintained his innocence until the end. A statement still up on donlapre.com, a website that shows the kind of opulence he promised as part of his scheme, as well as family photos, says:
I tried to create the best product on earth, paid out millions, made very little trying to make it a success, had attorneys review my entire company, paid out millions in refunds, tried to make the commission and products better every single year, and in spite of all that, I have been accused of something I did not do. I did not have the perfect company but never once did I allow one thing to be done that would violate any law. Nevertheless, because the majority of people did not make money, in spite of everyone of them being able to make as many $1000 checks as they wanted, I am left to fight a battle that will for sure destroy what energy I have left inside... I hope the pictures below motivate you to take a chance in life and try to do the impossible... It did not work out for me with my vitamins but I believe that being willing to fail is part of having a chance at success.... Never stop dreaming and for all those who sent me testimonials of what you did because of some of my help, I am grateful I made a small difference in your life... DL
I wonder if I'm alone when I speculate that maybe the truth of how he scammed so many people finally got to him. (He apparently attempted suicide earlier this year by stabbing himself repeatedly in the thigh and groin while hiding out in a Lifetime Fitness in Arizona). No one celebrates a suicide such as this, but I hope that before the next "miracle cure" fraudster comes along, they might think more about just how bad it might turn out for them in the long run if they persist.
D.J. Grothe is president of the James Randi Educational Foundation.