Huntington Man Who Fled Trial Is Sentenced to Prison

LOS ANGELES —  Fugitive Ronald Dante, a former nightclub hypnotist and peddler of “permanent makeup” training classes, has been sentenced to 67 months in federal prison on a contempt of court conviction.

Dante, 67, who fled near the end of his trial in November, was sentenced Monday. He last lived in Huntington Beach.

He was convicted in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on contempt charges for violating past orders that prohibited him from misleading consumers in promotions and training courses.

Seven years ago, the Federal Trade Commission shut down his Perma-Derm Academy in Fountain Valley. Dante, who was accused of bilking cosmetologists out of $1.5 million for “permanent makeup” training courses, consented to a federal court order requiring him to refund $143,750. He also agreed to a variety of conditions that prohibited him from misleading consumers in other promotions.

But last April, in an FTC initiative called Project Scofflaw aimed at enforcing such court orders, the agency accused him of continuing to peddle his promises of cosmetic certificates under a new name, Permanetics Inc. The agency also accused him of opening a paralegal training school, American Professional Institute, that falsely promised high-salaried jobs to graduates.