Donald W. Barrett is the founder and president of ITV Direct, a company which produces

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 for broadcast in the United States. Almost all are related to health and nutrition. Barret and ITC have been found guilty of making misleading health claims on multiple occasions. Barrett claims to market products that only, "positively impact people lives" " He has also promoted

Lorraine Day Lorraine Jeanette Day is an American author, former orthopedic trauma surgeon and Chief of Orthopedic Surgery at San Francisco General Hospital and promoter of alternative cancer treatments. She first became controversial when she began advoc ...

, and other alternative medical practitioners. He founded ITV Ventures, an

affiliate marketing Affiliate marketing is a marketing arrangement in which affiliates receive a commission for each visit, signup or sale they generate for a merchant. This arrangement allows businesses to outsource part of the sales process. It is a form of p ...

company connected to his infomercial business. ITV closed on October 3, 2008. On September 24, 2013, Barrett became the co-host of Unspoken Cures Radio, along with Matthew Ryncarz. Unspoken Cures Radio used to be known as Fusion Power Hour, and is broadcast on the Arena Sports Network.

Controversy

On April 19, 2004, Barrett in his capacity as President of ITV Direct, Inc./Direct Marketing Concepts, Inc. received a Warning Letter from the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...

(FDA) 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 Federal Trade Commission (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 (; born ) is an American author, salesman, and convicted fraudster known for promotion of his books and resulting legal cases involving the US Federal Trade Commission. His ubiquitous late-night infomercials, which promoted unsub ...

'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 is a pattern of attitudes and behaviour, often towards an individual or a group, but sometimes towards an ideology, which has the characteristics of disgust and anger. The word originated in 1393 in Old French contempt, contemps, ...

of a 2004 court order for making "patently false" claims in the weight loss book. https://www.bostonherald.com/2008/11/20/infomercial-king-donald-barrett-could-pay-54m-in-lawsuit/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 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 was scheduled to be sentenced on July 27, 2011. On September 29, 2011, he was sentenced to one year probation, three months of which he was to be confined to a community correction center. After that, he would be under house arrest for another three months and subject to electronic monitoring.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrett, Donald Businesspeople from Massachusetts Living people American fraudsters Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American businesspeople American businesspeople convicted of crimes American television personalities Male television personalities Infomercials