Kevin Trudeau isn’t the only one writhing in the icy grip of justice this week—one-time magazine subscription entrepreneur Richard L. Prochnow was ordered to pay over $7 million a few weeks ago when the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a judgment from July of 2006. Prochnow ran Direct Sales International (DSI), a bad magazine company that lied to customers and trapped them in a “buying club” that charged monthly fees and was very difficult to cancel.

DSI… either directly or through its dealers failed to disclose or misled consumers about the cost of magazine packages and individual magazines, and made weekly cost representations even though consumers could not make weekly payments for the packages.

[It also failed to] tell consumers that their credit cards would be billed for membership in a buying club unless they called within 30 days to cancel, and its failure to provide consumers with information that would enable them to cancel.

“Court Affirms Ruling: Magazine Seller Will Pay More Than $7 Million” [Federal Trade Commission]
(Photo: Getty)

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