| SuckOnThis |
06-14-2007 04:24 AM |
# In 1988 he launched a dating service and got married. About two months later he declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
# In 1990, he and his wife opened a credit repair business called Unknown Concepts, which led prospective customers to believe that they could obtain credit cards and other benefits but merely provided contact information about companies that might provide them. The Arizona Attorney General's office charged the couple with violating the state's Consumer Fraud act and obtained a consent judgment permanently enjoining from operating, assisting or participating in any credit services organization and from engaging in any misrepresentation, deceptive act or practice, false promise or concealment of material fact in connection with charitable solicitations or marketing of credit repair programs. The defendants were ordered to pay civil penalties and more than $5,000 restitution to complainants.
# 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. According to Lapre, placing newspaper ads enabled him to take in $50,000 per week.
# 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 commonsense tips for placing ads and operating a 900-number business. The product was sold through New Strategies, whose parent company was Tropical Beaches. Soon after purchasing the package, buyers would be telemarketed by a sales representatives who offered additional psychic, dating, entertainment, and chat 900 lines, plus free Web sites that together could cost hundred or even thousands of dollars. The real income opportunity was minimal, but many customers complained that they didn't even receive what they paid for.
# In 1994, Lapre was forced to pay the State of Arizona $45,000 for unemployment and withholding taxes that he neglected to file in 1993 and 1994.
# In 1995, the Michigan Attorney General took action against Lapre for failing to register his business. (A Better Business bureau report indicates that Lapre, Bob Smeal, Sandra J. Daly, and New Strategies entered into an Assurance of Discontinuance with an order that provided for restitution, payment of fees and proper registration before doing any further business in Michigan [2].)
# In 1999, Lapre had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on behalf of himself, New Strategies, Tropical Beaches, Dolphin Media, Don's Making Money, and National Reminder Service. His filing listed assets of $9 million and liabilities of $12.5 million.
# In 1997, the Internal Revenue Service issued a lien of $957,909.49 against Donald and Sally Lapre for failing to pay delinquent taxes.
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