Donald Barrett
Encyclopedia
Donald Barrett is the founder and president of ITV Direct, an infomercial
Infomercial
Infomercials are direct response television commercials which generally include a phone number or website. There are long-form infomercials, which are typically between 15 and 30 minutes in length, and short-form infomercials, which are typically 30 seconds to 120 seconds in length. Infomercials...

 company producing infomercials for broadcast in the United States. Almost all are related to health and nutrition, or in the company's words, "products that positively impact people". He has also promoted Lorraine Day
Lorraine Day
Lorraine Jeanette Day M.D. is a practitioner of alternative medicine who claims to have discovered the cause and cure of cancer, as a result of God showing her how to recover from her own cancer with a 10 step plan. According to her theory, all cancers are due to weakness of the immune system...

, and other alternative medical practitioners. Recently he founded ITV Ventures, an affiliate company which offers the public network marketing opportunities connected to its infomercial
Infomercial
Infomercials are direct response television commercials which generally include a phone number or website. There are long-form infomercials, which are typically between 15 and 30 minutes in length, and short-form infomercials, which are typically 30 seconds to 120 seconds in length. Infomercials...

 business. ITV closed on October 3, 2008.

Controversy

On April 19, 2004, Barrett in his capacity as President of ITV Direct, Inc./Direct Marketing Concepts, Inc. received a Warning Letter
FDA Warning Letter
The United States Food and Drug Adminstration defines a Warning Letter as "...a correspondence that notifies regulated industry about violations that FDA has documented during its inspections or investigations...

 from the Food and Drug Administration
Food and Drug Administration
The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...

 notifying him that the product Supreme Greens was being marketed as an unlicensed drug with false or misleading claims. The letter requested that ITV Direct correct the deceptive practices.

In June 2004, the FTC filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts alleging that Direct Marketing Concepts, Inc., ITV Direct, Inc., and their president, Donald W. Barrett had deceptively marketed Supreme Greens and Coral Calcium Daily by claiming that it could prevent, treat, and cure cancer, heart disease, arthritis, and diabetes. They also claimed it caused substantial weight loss, and was safe for use by pregnant women, children – including those as young as one year old, and persons taking any form of medication. In July 2004, ITV Direct was enjoined from marketing Supreme Greens.

On October 5, 2007, the FTC sued ITV Direct, Inc. and Donald Barrett for misrepresenting Kevin Trudeau
Kevin Trudeau
Kevin Mark Trudeau is an American author, radio personality, and infomercial salesman best known for promoting alternative medicine. A number of his television infomercials and several of his books, including Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You to Know About, allege that both the U.S...

's "Weight-Loss Cure" book in the infomercial they produced to market it. In response to the FTC's suit, ITV Direct sued the FTC for alleged harassment and violation of free speech rights. Subsequently, on November 19, 2007, in a separate FTC action, Trudeau was found in contempt
Contempt of court
Contempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...

of a 2004 court order for making "patently false" claims in the weight loss book.

On July 19, 2008, a federal judge ruled that two infomercials produced by Beverly-based ITV Direct for "Coral Calcium" and "Supreme Greens" were deceptive and that the firm's owners are liable for restitution being sought by the Federal Trade Commission, which is seeking nearly $55 million. The judge also dismissed a countersuit filed by Donald Barrett, ITV's president, who claimed the FTC was violating his First Amendment rights by taking him to court to force him to pull the ads.

On May 2, 2011, Barrett pleaded guilty to failing to report income and to selling a product touted as a disease preventative without approval from the FDA. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 27, 2011.

External links

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