Kevin Trudeau In Trouble With FTC - Again

[Stinky McGurk]

See where the FTC is going another round with Kevin Trudeau.

FTC: Marketer Kevin Trudeau Violated Prior Court Order

Charges Him with Misrepresenting Contents of Book
For Release: September 14, 2007

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2007/09/trudeau.shtm

Charged with misrepresenting the contents of a book?

What kind of charge is that? Likely get fined?

Probably a joke with him considering he likely raked in millions with his book sales.

They don't throw people in jail for these kinds of things do they?

So how do they deal with people that ignore court orders?

[wserra]

See where the FTC is going another round with Kevin Trudeau.

Trudeau is one of the lowest of the low.

Charged with misrepresenting the contents of a book? What kind of charge is that?

The FTC's press release sets it out pretty well. Trudeau was barred from infomercials except relating to his books. So he writes a book about a "sure-thing" diet that was all but impossible to follow, and promotes it as simple.

Likely get fined? Probably a joke with him considering he likely raked in millions with his book sales.

A point I'm sure the FTC will make to Judge Gettleman.

They don't throw people in jail for these kinds of things do they?

Hopefully so. If the Court does find Trudeau in contempt, it will not be the first time. While it is true that courts generally don't like to impose jail sentences for civil contempt, multiple citations make it much more likely.

[Stinky McGurk]

I always thought Kevin's specialty was running nutrition scams.

But I checked and see he's also quite the wizard with a pool cue. Started the IPT (International Pool Tour) in 2005.

I'm told he (allegedly) hid money the FTC was after to start it up, then sold it to Asian billionnaire Stanley Ho for approximately $150M after the FTC probation period ended. (It went something like if they found him hiding assets anytime during a 2 year period, the full $$ penalty would kick in.)

Somehow the bonus pool money for the players (money list in the millions) seemed to dissapear into thin air after the sale!

From a pool forum (2006): "The players were to be paid at the last event. They were not, they were told, checks in the mail. The big question is now, will they be stiffed?"

Hmmm.... Think maybe?

See too Kevin pled guilty to larceny in 1991 for providing false information to obtain credit cards which he used for his own purposes. He spent two years in prison because for this conviction.

Hopefully Judge Gettleman will keep this information in mind when sentencing Kevin, if found guilty for his latest run in with the law.

A little forced sodomy in the state pen might help Kev reflect on the error of his ways.

[wserra]

Want a "natural cure" for AIDS? Alzheimer's? Carpal tunnel? Lots of other stuff? Even more stuff?

Why, just pay Kevin.

Hopefully he'll soon need a "natural cure" for jail.

[RyanMcC]

I always disliked Kevin Trudeau. He spent a couple years in prison for credit card fraud before.

He recommends Scientology/Dianetics in his Natural Cures book too.

Virtually everything he sells is overpriced snake oil.

He was actually banned from selling any health-related products on TV again. The only thing he could sell was a book aparantly.

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/09/trudeaucoral.shtm

He is almost as bad as a Televangalist reguarding his claims.

[Stinky McGurk]

See his latest offering is "Debt Cures They Don't Want You to Know About".

Who is "they" I wonder?

If you think about it, all you have to do really is declare bankruptcy. Of course, it's not that easy, but it sure is the simplest solution.

Maybe "they" are your creditors?

[wserra]

Judge Gettleman has found poor old Kevin in contempt. See his remarkably readable decision here. It should be required reading for anyone who ever thinks of buying anything from this guy.

In essence, Judge Gettleman points out that Trudeau's "easiest, simplist, most effective" diet plan is all but impossible to follow. It includes such things as requiring daily injections of a drug called human chorionic gonadotrophin. HCG is available only by prescription and is specifically not FDA-approved for weight loss. Accordingly, Trudeau's dieter would have to obtain the drug outside the US, or convince a doctor to prescribe it for a non-approved use. The list goes on. The last phase of the "diet" must be continued for life.

Do a public service, everyone: print this quite clear opinion and give a copy to anyone who says anything remotely positive about this consummate rip-off artist.

[Judge Roy Bean]

I wonder if the books' limitations lists were designed to be obtuse or if they simply didn't use an editor or proofreader. Consider:

Things STRONGLY SUGGESTED you DO NOT DO:
...
No restaurant food
Don't go to restaurants that heavily advertise
...
No fast food, regional or national chain restaurants
Don't watch, read or listen to ads for food or restaurants
...

So I guess I just wander into only local, non-fast food restaurants that don't heaviliy advertise and not eat anything while I'm there. But if I don't watch, read or listen to their ads, how will I know if they "heavily" advertise?

Things STRONGLY SUGGESTED you DO NOT do:
...
Limit homogenized or pasteurized dairy products
...
Limit ice cold drinks
Limit air conditioning exposure
Limit exposure to flourescent lights
Limit carbonated drinks
...

So you're not supposed to limit homogenized or pasteurized dairy products, ice cold and carbonated drinks, exposure to air conditioning and flourescent lights?

That's good. I can still enjoy cheese queso and an icy margarita in the TV room where I put in all those little twisty flourescent bulbs.

And then there's more:

Things you MUST NOT DO:
...
Put nothing on the skin
...
Don't worry about calories, fat, carbs or sodium
...

So I have to put what on my skin? And I must not don't worry about calories, fat, carbs or sodium?

And this garbage got to the best seller list?

[Investor]

wserra: Judge Gettleman has found poor old Kevin in contempt. See his remarkably readable decision here. It should be required reading for anyone who ever thinks of buying anything from this guy.

I (unfortunately) know someone who buys into the Trudeau garbage. All this does, in their minds, is prove that Trudeau is on to something the government is trying to cover up. They see this type of thing as the FTC/FDA, etc. scratching the back of the big pharmaceutical companies, who Trudeau rages against, who pay big $ to the government to keep things hush, hush. They are just like the other conspiracy theorists. Ask yourself: would a contempt charge, or a felonious background, stop the TP crowd from following the likes of Peter Hendrickson?

I also saw Trudeau's infomercial about credit cards while flipping through the channels at 5:00am after my morning run (there's only so much Girls Gone Wild you can watch at that hour). While I didn't disagree with everything he was saying, I know how he is, so I listened with a little suspicion. I didn't think the core message he was spewing was that far off (but I only watched 10 minutes or so), nor did I think he was saying anything you can't get for free from watching any television show on personal finances. Of course, he vilifies the banks more than the personal finances gurus.

[wserra]

And now, at long last, Trudeau is banned from making any infomercials (he had previously been banned from all infomercials except those advertising his books) for three years and fined $5.2M. The FTC's story is here. For some reason, the actual opinion is not on the FTC site, so I put it up here.

IMHO this opinion is a good example of how judges really don't like to incarcerate for civil contempt. Trudeau did everything except moon the Court. The same judge had previously held him in contempt. In this order, he noted that, in addition to the prior contempt, Trudeau "has a long history of consumer deception". He concluded that, as he had previously, Trudeau "clearly and no doubt intentionally" violated the injunction. He found that the infomercials were filled with "undeniably false statements", which he went on for pages to list. He found that Trudeau was full of it - courts don't put it like that, so Judge Gettelman said that "the court does not credit much of Mr. Trudeau’s testimony at all", and that an exhibit was "not worth the paper it is written on". After language like that, a jail sentence would not surprise.

Too bad. Trudeau makes lots of money. A fine is just part of the cost of doing business.

[Judge Roy Bean]

Despite the ban, I noticed yet another of his infomercials running over the weekend.

[Arthur Rubin]

Despite the ban, I noticed yet another of his infomercials running over the weekend.

The ban might cover only infomercials now contracted for, leaving an occasional one already contracted for in place?

[Judge Roy Bean]

....The ban might cover only infomercials now contracted for, leaving an occasional one already contracted for in place?

The way I read this:

"In his August ruling, the court banned Trudeau "or any person acting in concert with him, from participating in the production or publication of any infomercial for any product, including books, in which Mr. Trudeau or any related entity has an interest, for a period of three years from the date of this order."

It would seem that the local television stations that have sold him the time for these are either unaware of the order or have chosen to keep taking the money.

[Arthur Rubin]

....The ban might cover only infomercials now contracted for, leaving an occasional one already contracted for in place?

The way I read this:

"In his August ruling, the court banned Trudeau "or any person acting in concert with him, from participating in the production or publication of any infomercial for any product, including books, in which Mr. Trudeau or any related entity has an interest, for a period of three years from the date of this order."

It would seem that the local television stations that have sold him the time for these are either unaware of the order or have chosen to keep taking the money.

I'm not a lawyer, but there seems to me to be a lot of "wiggle room" between "acting in concert" with someone, and transmitting something he's already contracted for. (It's also possible the agency or broadcaster is unaware of the order, which seems quite likely unless the order requires Trudeau to inform those who he's given the "product" (infomercial) to.)

[Doc Bunkum]

NEWS RELEASE - Dec. 29, 2008

HETTINGER, ND – Healthy Weight Network released its 20th annual Slim Chance Awards today, highlighting both the hidden dangers of diets and supplements that often contain unknown ingredients and sometimes potent drugs, and the merely ridiculous.

20th Annual Slim Chance Awards
Worst Diet Promotions of 2008

All in all, a typical year that synthesizes all that is deceptive and exploitative in this field. So, here they are, the 20th annual Slim Chance Awards:

MOST OUTRAGEOUS CLAIM: Kevin Trudeau infomercials.

It’s rare that regulatory agencies look at books, given our free speech laws, but the infomercials for Kevin Trudeau’s weight loss book and his repeated violations were just too much for the Federal Trade Commission, and this past August he was fined over $5 million and banned from infomercials for three years.

In “willful efforts” to deceive, Trudeau told listeners they could easily follow the diet protocol at home, even though his book calls for human growth hormone injections and colonics that must be done by a licensed practitioner. The tortured case began in 1998 when FTC charged Trudeau with false and misleading diet infomercials.

In 2003 he was charged with false claims; in 2004 he was fined $2 million and banned from infomercials. Again in 2007 a contempt action said he misled thousands with false claims for his weight loss book “in flagrant violation” of court orders.

Congratulations, Kevin.

Nice one.

[Judge Roy Bean]

He's still on television.

[Doc Bunkum]

Well, how then does that apply, Judge?

I just checked the FTC site...

Kevin Trudeau Banned from Infomercials For Three Years, Ordered to Pay More Than $5 Million for False Claims About Weight-Loss Book

Does that mean "from making new informercials"

... or from running current ones?

[fortinbras]

The Healthy Weight Network page is at:

http://www.healthyweightnetwork.com/fraud.htm

It seems to me that you're doing something wrong if you're repeatedly banned from the airwaves for fraudulent advertising endangering the public health.