An awkward ad by Fred Thompson

The one-minute commercials are airing across the country on behalf of Tempe, Ariz.-based LifeLock Inc., which said nearly 200,000 customers pay about $10 a month for services that include placing fraud alerts on their credit files.

LifeLock was co-founded in 2005 by Robert J. Maynard Jr., whom the Federal Trade Commission accused in 1996 of deceiving consumers with advertisements that suggested his credit-repair company could remove records of bankruptcies and delinquent payments.

The FTC also alleged that Maynard and another executive at National Credit Foundation Inc. collected checking-account data from its customers for "verification" when the real purpose was to make unauthorized withdrawals from those accounts.

Maynard settled both allegations with the FTC in 1997 without admitting wrongdoing but agreed to be barred from "advertising, promoting, offering for sale, selling, performing or distributing any product or service relating to credit-improvement services."

Thompson's spokesman, Mark Corallo, said the former senator from Tennessee and actor, best known for his role as the district attorney on NBC television's "Law & Order," did not research the company before becoming LifeLock's pitchman.

Corallo said ABC Radio asked Thompson, as well as other hosts of its syndicated talk programs, to endorse LifeLock, an advertiser on its stations.

Thompson has been a commentator and host of ABC Radio specials since 2006.

"It's part of the contract," Corallo said. "You can't expect the individual on-air personality to do research on every company."

Thompson pulled out of "Law & Order" in June to explore a possible Republican presidential bid.

In an interview Friday, Maynard blamed his earlier problems with bipolar disorder, which he said left him destitute and relying on food stamps before he rebuilt his life.

LifeLock Chief Executive Todd Davis said his company wasn't affected by the FTC order because LifeLock's system for protecting credit ratings wasn't related to credit improvement.

Maynard served as chief operating officer until this year. He is now responsible for LifeLock's advertising and marketing and continues to own stock in the company, Davis said.