‘King of Infomercials’ arrested on fraud charges after skipping court

The "King of Infomercials" may have pitched his last product.

U.S. Marshals arrested Don Lapre last night in Tempe, Ariz., after he failed to appear in court on fraud charges linked to his vitamin business.

Earlier this month, Lapre, of Phoenix, was indicted by a federal grand jury, which charged that his business, Greatest Vitamin in the World, signed up 226,794 people and promised them money for selling vitamins and recruiting others to the business. In the end, prosecutors say, investors and customers spent nearly $51.8 million, but received just $6.4 million in commissions. Between 2004 and 2007, they say, Lapre himself took in at least $2.2 million from the business.

The self-proclaimed infomercial king was charged with 41 counts of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, promotional money laundering and transactional money laundering. He has acknowledged that he "did not have the perfect company," but denied breaking the law.

Earlier, U.S. Marshals had circulated a wanted poster describing Lapre as suffering from anxiety and depression, and as possibly suicidal. You can watch a local news report on Lapre and his arrest in the clip above.