David "Dave" P. Del Dotto is a former

real estate investor Real estate investing involves the purchase, management and sale or rental of real estate for profit. Someone who actively or passively invests in real estate is called a real estate entrepreneur or a real estate investor. Some investors actively ...

from

Modesto, California Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton- ...

, who sold a course called the "Cash Flow System" through

infomercial An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of dire ...

s on late-night television in the 1980s and early 1990s. In addition to his Cash Flow System course, Del Dotto also wrote a book, ''How to Make Nothing but Money'', which is no longer in print.

Infomercial career

Del Dotto often shot his infomercials from locations in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

with his students. As a self-proclaimed expert, he would give advice on real estate investment. Del Dotto had associates sell his book and tape programs to audiences throughout the United States and Canada. Those who bought the course would be invited to a weekend seminar. At the weekend events several additional speakers would sell their financial educational material, which usually included books and audio and video courses.

Legal trouble

On October 22, 1993, the

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

reported: In February 1995, the FTC filed suit against Del Dotto. In 1996, Del Dotto settled for $200,000 charges that he and his companies had made "allegedly deceptive claims" in marketing his books and audio tapes on real estate investment.

Pop Culture

A clip of one of his videos was featured in the movie

Houseguest ''Houseguest'' is a 1995 American comedy film starring Sinbad and Phil Hartman and directed by Randall Miller, released to cinemas in the United States on January 6, 1995. Plot Kevin Franklin is an inner city Pittsburgh native; raised in an o ...

, as well as

Mississippi Masala ''Mississippi Masala'' is a 1991 romantic drama film directed by Mira Nair, based upon a screenplay by Sooni Taraporevala, starring Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury, and Roshan Seth. Set primarily in rural Mississippi, the film explores ...

Current career

Since 1993, Del Dotto has been producing wine at Del Dotto Vineyards in

Napa, California Napa is the largest city and county seat of Napa County and a principal city of Wine Country in Northern California. Located in the North Bay region of the Bay Area, the city had a population of 77,480 as of the end of 2021. Napa is a major t ...

References

External links