When he pleaded guilty last May to tax and consumer fraud charges, former TV pitchman and Beverly business owner Donald Barrett Jr. acknowledged in court that the plea agreement he had struck with federal prosecutors would send him to prison for a year.
But as it turns out, Barrett will spend just three months in custody — and not in a prison but a "community corrections center" — after a federal judge last week decided to impose an even lower sentence than the plea bargain had set out.
Yesterday, Barrett was given a year of probation by U.S. District Court Judge Richard Stearns. Three months will be spent in a halfway house, and three more on home confinement.
Barrett will also not have to pay the $3,000 fine prosecutors had sought.
It's not entirely clear why, since not only did Barrett's lawyers insist on filing their sentencing memorandum under seal, but U.S. District Court Judge Richard Stearns did not include any specific reasons for the decision in the written sentencing order.
In court, the judge cited only the family circumstances raised by Barrett's attorneys, and in his order listed an "inability to pay" as the reason for waiving the fine.
Barrett's attorneys, William Kettlewell and William Lovett, asked that their sentencing memorandum be sealed from public view because it contains "confidential personal and medical information" about a family member, and also asked the judge to impound the transcript of their sidebar discussion with the judge, according to the case docket.
Barrett, 37, who now lives in Plymouth, was the co-founder of two businesses, Direct Marketing Concepts and ITV Direct, both based in Beverly. The firms produced infomercials — program-length advertisements — for such products as "Coral Calcium Daily" and "Supreme Greens."
Federal prosecutors alleged — and Barrett admitted in May — that he had arranged to have some of the income generated from the sales of his product Coral Calcium diverted directly to his own bank account by the company that processed credit card payments for orders.
He then failed to report $573,724 in income on his 2003 tax return, costing the government approximately $160,000, prosecutors said.
Barrett was also convicted of mislabeling his product "Supreme Greens," which he touted in his infomercials as a means to prevent or treat cancer and diabetes.
In the government's sentencing memorandum, prosecutors described the original plea agreement as being at the low end of federal sentencing guidelines, but said they took into account his willingness to plead guilty prior to trial, among other factors.
Barrett's lawyers could not be reached for comment yesterday evening.
Barrett's brother-in-law and co-founder of ITV, Robert Maihos, died in June.
Barrett is already having income garnished to satisfy a $48 million judgment in a lawsuit by the Federal Trade Commission over what a judge found were deceptive claims in some ads produced by Barrett's business, according to court documents filed in the case.
ITV, which at one point employed more than 400 people at its call center and television production facility, abruptly closed its offices in the Cherry Hill Drive office park in 2009, leaving the landlord out some $450,000 in unpaid rent, the owner of the building told The Salem News that year.
Courts reporter Julie Manganis may be reached at 978-338-2521 or at jmanganis@salemnews.com.
Sister Says She Reported Brother in Patz Killing
Patz Suspect's Sister: I Went to Police in 1980s
Diplomatic Expulsions Follow Fresh Syria Report
15 Dead in Northern Italy's 5.8-magnitude Quake
Angry Birds Spreading Their Wings
Witness Describes Fla. Face-chewing Attack
Man Falls Off Crane, Dies After Police Standoff
Russia Condemns Ally Syria Over Massacre of 108
Dairy Farm Uses Chiropractor to Help Cows
Unexpected Smog in Pristine National Parks
Air Canada Plane Makes Emergency Landing
New Ticks Spread Across Southeast, Diseases Rise
Bring Your Own Tech Programs Charge Up Students
Pope's Butler Vows to Help Vatican Investigation
Mother of Allegedly Abused Girl Denies Claims
Raw Video: 19 Dead in Qatar Shopping Mall Fire
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Raw Video: Heckler Bursts in on Blair Testimony
Japan Farmers Plant, Seek Radiation-free Rice
