Top TV pitchman Don Lapre 'commits suicide' in prison just two days before $52m fraud trial

The Daily Mail ^ | 5:05 PM on 3rd October 2011 | Mark Duell

[TSgt]

A renowned TV pitchman who allegedly defrauded at least 220,000 people of nearly $52million is believed to have committed suicide in jail.

Don Lapre, 47, of Phoenix, Arizona, was charged with running a nationwide scheme to sell essentially worthless Internet-based businesses.

The father-of-two was found dead in his prison cell in Florence, Arizona, on Sunday - just two days before his trial was due to begin on Tuesday.

[TSgt]

Con-artist wuss...

[TSgt]

He has a tiny classified ad in the obituary now...

Don Lapre Sells Tiny Classified Ads
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mubCkCAEiDQ&feature=player_embedded

[Sybeck1]

Sad for the kids.

[DuncanWaring]

Back when he was doing the “teeny newspaper ads” scam, someone created a USENET newsgroup in his honor:

alt.don.lapre.die.die.die

[freedumb2003]

Maybe it is my sheltered life, but I don’t recognize the name nor face.

Did they overstate “renowned” or is it maybe a regional thing...?

[ColdOne]

Authorities found him in a gym with a cut in his groin and they believed at the time he had attempted suicide by trying to slice his femoral artery. Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

[Safetgiver]

Hit. (Whack).

[Sybeck1]

On June 27, 2011, Don Lapre was arrested at a Lifetime Fitness location in Tempe, AZ, with serious self inflicted knife wounds to his groin, and had reportedly lived in the Lifetime Fitness location for 2 days.[17]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Lapre

[rottndog]

First time I saw this snake on TV, I knew anything he was hocking was a scam. Whatever happened to ‘buyer beware’? Looks like lots of fools and their money were parted. Why should this guy have been in jail?

[Past Your Eyes]

Evidently “renowned” doesn’t reach to the back woods of Cow Hampshire either.

[TSgt]

I should create: alt.telemarketers.die.die.die

[DCBryan1]

What a selfish pussy. I knew he was a con artist the first time I saw him.

[God luvs America]

i always wondered how that punk would back up his assertions- glad i didn’t send him any $$$....

[DCBryan1]

http://www.donlapre.com/

[WayneS]

I, too, have no idea who he is.

[SoldierDad]

His programming was on usually in the wee hours of the morning. It was obvious to anyone with half a working brain cell that he was a con-artist.

[Paleo Conservative]

I, too, have no idea who he is.

Hopefully it's because you don't have insomnia so you never had the TV on in the wee hours of the morning.

[BreezyDog]

You’re not a night owl, huh?

[Stosh]

Shoulda pitched hope and change instead of internet millions . . .

[DCBryan1]

I, too, have no idea who he is.

He was on early AM here, and his commercials SUCKED...always looked like his cameraman was drunk or on a boat and Lapre couldn't stop looking down while rapid-fire sales pitch went on and on and on.

Any shmuck that gave this shyster money was an idiot.