Infomercial Fraud Trial Begins in Virginia

Two self-proclaimed experts at trading stocks who used late-night infomercials to tout their abilities are now on trial in federal court on fraud charges.

Prosecutors say Linda Woolf of Sandy, Utah, and David Gengler of Draper, Utah represented themselves as successful investors at seminars across the country.

In reality, though, prosecutors say they were failures in the stock market who made millions in sales commissions by persuading people to spend thousands of dollars learning the ins and outs of the stock market.

In opening statements Monday at federal court in Virginia, defense lawyers said the people who took Woolf and Gengler’s classes got exactly what they paid for. They accused the government of blurring the line between salesmanship and fraud.