Of course he’s a fraudster. But no more than most writers of self-help books.
Something doesn’t smell right here. They are criminalizing opinion. There are freedom-of-press issues here; they are going after low-hanging fruit to establish a precedent. Then they ramp up from there.
Something doesn’t smell right here. They are criminalizing opinion. There are freedom-of-press issues here; they are going after low-hanging fruit to establish a precedent. Then they ramp up from there.
I think you are correct. My wife has several of Trudeau's books and I have read parts of them. We both agree they contain useful information and insights. His offers of ‘free publications’ are not fraudulent. His people carefully tell you that other ‘other offers’ cost money and just say ‘decline’ and the free books will still be free except for a normal shipping charge. This whole prosecution really stinks.
You can write a book saying anything you want to, but you can't advertise the book as not requiring dieting when it does. That's fraud.
Although I suspect anybody who followed the diet did indeed lose weight!
If you read the article, there are a lot of bad facts here.
The Federal Trade Commission sued him (civilly) for false advertising. He lost, and there was a court order against him to stop running the ads and pay restitution. He continued to run the ads-- 32,000 times after the court order-- and hid all his money in shell companies to avoid paying the restitution.
The criminal conviction was not for the original false advertising, but for criminal contempt of court.
Trudeau violated court orders to pay a $37 million fine for alleged false marketing claims. The judge told him, “You can’t talk your way out of this.”
9/20/13
CHICAGO — A judge in Chicago has released Kevin Trudeau from jail after the infomercial pitchman spent the night behind bars for violating court orders to pay a more than $37 million fine.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports that as Judge Robert Gettleman freed the 50-year-old, he warned Trudeau he’s on a “tight leash” and could be jailed again next week.
Trudeau insists he’s penniless and can’t pay the fine that stems from allegedly false claims made in his weight-loss book.
A court-appointed receiver told the judge that Trudeau insists he can’t remember basic aspects about his assets, including which banks some of his accounts are in.
To counter Trudeau’s claim he’s destitute, Federal Trade Commission lawyers Wednesday presented evidence he’s spent $920 on cigars and $359 on two haircuts.
For someone who says he’s broke, Kevin Trudeau sure owns some fancy cuff links, the feds say.
The white-gold, diamond cuff links from swiss watchmaker Patek Philippe cost the silver-tongued infomercial king and convicted fraudster $12,500, they say.
Then there’s the overseas bookie’s account containing 73,000 Swiss francs; the Australian bank account containing $141,000; $100,000 worth of gold bars; his wife’s new apartment in Ukraine, and the unaccounted-for millions passing through businesses he controls, they say.
For five years, Trudeau has failed to pay a single cent of a $38 million fine U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman imposed on him for flouting a court-ordered ban on making false claims in his diet book infomercials.
Though he was until recently driving a $340,000 Bentley, employing two chefs and was caught spending on luxuries including $180 Vidal Sassoon haircuts and $1,000 worth of fine meats, he continues to insist he is “penniless and homeless” and can’t pay the fine. His lawyers say he’s being unfairly targeted by the “shrill” complaints of the Federal Trade Commission.