1. Kevin Trudeau is an American author, salesman, television personality, and convicted felon, known for promotion of his books and resulting legal cases involving the US Federal Trade Commission.
66 Facts About Kevin Trudeau
1. 2.
In 2013, facing consequences for non-payment of the $37 million judgment, Kevin Trudeau filed for bankruptcy protection.
3.
In November 2013, Kevin Trudeau was convicted of criminal contempt, and was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison in March 2014.
4.
The Chicago Tribune reported in April 2014 that infomercials starring Kevin Trudeau and promoting his books continued to air regularly on United States television stations even though he was in jail at the time.
5.
Kevin Trudeau left federal custody in 2022 after 8 years, after which the FTC continued to pursue the unpaid $37 million fine.
6.
Kevin Trudeau grew up in Lynn, Massachusetts, the adopted son of Robert and Mary Kevin Trudeau.
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Kevin Trudeau attended St Mary's High School in Lynn, where he was voted "Most Likely to Succeed" by the class of 1981.
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The FTC took regulatory action against Kevin Trudeau, alleging that his broadcasts contained unsubstantiated claims and misrepresentations.
9.
In 2004, Kevin Trudeau began writing books and promoting them with infomercials in the US The first book he published was a medical guide titled Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You to Know About, which was published in 2005.
10.
Kevin Trudeau claimed he was not able to include them because of threats by the FTC.
11.
Two years later, Kevin Trudeau published a second medical book titled More Natural Cures Revealed: Previously Censored Brand Name Products That Cure Disease.
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Kevin Trudeau went on to publish The Weight-Loss Cure "They" Don't Want You to Know About and Debt Cures "They" Don't Want You to Know About.
13.
Kevin Trudeau's writing has been commercially successful although not factual.
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Kevin Trudeau launched a self-titled Internet radio talk show in February 2009 which aired on several small radio stations consisting of mostly brokered programming.
15.
In More Natural Cures Revealed, Kevin Trudeau writes that workers at the FDA and FTC want to censor him and, figuratively, burn his books.
16.
The FTC filed a contempt-of-court action against Kevin Trudeau alleging that the alleged misrepresentations in the book violate a 2004 consent order.
17.
Kevin Trudeau says he was "taken in" by a mysterious group called "The Brotherhood" that taught him the secrets that he is widely announcing in his book.
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Kevin Trudeau has been interviewed by CNN's Paula Zahn, Matt Lauer of NBC's Today Show, and Harry Smith of CBS's The Early Show.
19.
At one time, Kevin Trudeau was a prolific producer of infomercials.
20.
Kevin Trudeau consented to an FTC ban applying to everything except publications that the FTC concluded would infringe upon his First Amendment rights.
21.
Kevin Trudeau offers a conspiracy theory, saying that the drug industry and the FDA work with each other to effectively deceive the public by banning all-natural cures in order to protect the profits of the drug industry.
22.
Kevin Trudeau says that FDA commissioners who leave the FDA to work for large drug companies are paid millions of dollars.
23.
One of the major complaints about Kevin Trudeau's infomercials is that he makes only vague references to scientific studies, making them impossible to cross-check for accuracy.
24.
Choi says that by repeatedly mentioning government sanctions against him, Kevin Trudeau "anticipated any backlash with his cuckoo conspiracy theory" and can partially deflect any criticism of him or his infomercials.
25.
Kevin Trudeau's use of the word "cure" is an issue for regulators.
26.
Kevin Trudeau says he adapted techniques used to improve the memory of the blind and the mentally challenged to create Mega Memory and Advanced Mega Memory audio tapes.
27.
Kevin Trudeau used research that Dr Michael Van Masters conducted with the State School for the Blind in Muskogee, Oklahoma, in 1975 as the basis of the Mega Memory products.
28.
Kevin Trudeau was selling automobiles at Neponset Lincoln Mercury in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston in 1982 when he first met Van Masters.
29.
In 2008, Kevin Trudeau began airing another infomercial, for a product called Firmalift, with Leigh Valentine.
30.
Kevin Trudeau worked with ITV to create ITV Ventures, a new MLM group based out of ITV's home office.
31.
Kevin Trudeau's goal was to transform billiards into a "major league" sport with aggressive promotion and the largest purses ever offered.
32.
Kevin Trudeau has been charged several times by agencies of the United States government for making claims without evidence.
33.
Kevin Trudeau subsequently began to sell books, which are protected by the First Amendment.
34.
Kevin Trudeau was convicted of fraud and larceny in the early 1990s.
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In 1990, Kevin Trudeau posed as a doctor in order to deposit $80,000 in false checks, and in 1991, he pleaded guilty to larceny.
36.
That same year, Kevin Trudeau faced federal charges of credit card fraud after he stole the names and Social Security numbers of eleven customers of a mega memory product and charged $122,735.68 on their credit cards.
37.
Kevin Trudeau spent two years in federal prison because of this conviction.
38.
Kevin Trudeau began working for Nutrition For Life, a multi-level marketing program, in the mid-1990s.
39.
In 1998, Kevin Trudeau was fined $500,000, the funds to be used for consumer redress by the FTC, relating to six infomercials he had produced and in which the FTC determined he had made false or misleading claims.
40.
In July 2003, Kevin Trudeau entered into a stipulated preliminary injunction that prohibited him from continuing to make the challenged claims for Coral Calcium Supreme and Biotape.
41.
In September 2004, Kevin Trudeau agreed to pay $2 million to settle charges that he falsely claimed that a coral calcium product can cure cancer and other serious diseases and that a purported analgesic called Biotape can permanently cure or relieve severe pain.
42.
Kevin Trudeau agreed to a lifetime ban on promoting products using infomercials, but excluded restrictions to promote his books via infomercials.
43.
Kevin Trudeau was the only person ever banned by the FTC from selling a product via television.
44.
On February 28,2005, Kevin Trudeau filed a complaint against the FTC in the US District Court for the District of Columbia seeking declaratory and injunctive relief.
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Kevin Trudeau filed a motion for preliminary injunction, which the court denied.
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That conduct, Kevin Trudeau asserted, exceeded the FTC's authority under 15 USC.
47.
Kevin Trudeau later filed an appeal which was unsuccessful in reversing the court's ruling.
48.
Kevin Trudeau filed a lawsuit on August 11,2005, accusing the New York State Consumer Protection Board of violating his First Amendment rights by contacting television stations in New York state and urging them to pull Kevin Trudeau's infomercials promoting his book Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You to Know About.
49.
Kevin Trudeau won a temporary restraining order on September 6,2005, prohibiting the Board from sending letters to the television stations.
50.
However, Kevin Trudeau lost a motion to have the Board send a "corrective letter" to the television stations and subsequently dropped all claims for monetary damages.
51.
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled in favor of Kevin Trudeau, reversing the lower court's decision.
52.
The appellate court held that the Consumer Protection Board's actions, which included sending letters to media outlets urging them not to run Kevin Trudeau's infomercials, constituted a violation of his First Amendment rights.
53.
On November 19,2007, Kevin Trudeau was found in contempt of the 2004 court order for "patently false" claims in his weight loss book.
54.
Kevin Trudeau appealed the ruling to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit which upheld the contempt finding, but sent the case back to the lower court to explain the basis of the $37,616,161 damage finding and the three-year infomercial ban.
55.
On November 29,2011, Kevin Trudeau lost his 2010 appeal in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
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Additionally, the court found that requiring Kevin Trudeau to make a $2 million performance bond prior to participating in an infomercial was constitutional.
57.
In February 2014, the court-appointed receiver announced that a number of Kevin Trudeau's known assets, including a home in Ojai, California, would be auctioned, with proceeds to be applied toward unpaid fines and restitution.
58.
In March 2014, Kevin Trudeau was sentenced to 10 years in prison, an "unusually lengthy" term for a contempt conviction.
59.
Kevin Trudeau served most of his sentence at the Federal Prison Camp Montgomery in Alabama.
60.
Kevin Trudeau is still involved in publicity for his Global Information Network, which by one account is using some of the language of Scientology to attract members.
61.
Kevin Trudeau left federal custody in 2022 after eight years, but the $37.6 million fine remained unpaid.
62.
One common criticism by consumer groups is that Kevin Trudeau has had no medical training.
63.
Kevin Trudeau has been criticized for his inability to provide evidence to back up his claims.
64.
In instances where Kevin Trudeau has been asked to provide proof, he has misinterpreted medical studies or cited dubious or fictitious studies.
65.
For example, Kevin Trudeau cited a nonexistent 25-year research study involving a natural cure for diabetes at the University of Calgary.
66.
Kevin Trudeau later claimed in his infomercials that the university destroyed its findings to prevent reprisals from the pharmaceutical industry.