Kevin Trudeau

Kevin Trudeau
Trudeau in 2022
Trudeau in 2022
Born1962 or 1963 (age 61–62)
NationalityAmerican
Occupations
  • Author
  • television personality
Known for
Spouses
  • Oleksandra Polozhentseva
  • Kristine Dorow
    ​
    ​
    (m. 2007, annulled)​
  • Natalya Babenko
    ​
    ​
    (m. 2008; ann. 2022)​
Criminal charge

Kevin Trudeau (/truːˈdoʊ/; born 1962 or 1963)[1] is an American author, salesman, and television personality known for promotion of his books and resulting legal cases involving the US Federal Trade Commission. His late-night infomercials, which promoted unsubstantiated health, diet, and financial advice, earned him a fortune but resulted in civil and criminal penalties for fraud, larceny, and contempt of court.

In the early 1990s, Trudeau was convicted of larceny and credit card fraud. In 2007, he was accused of grossly misrepresenting the contents of his book, The Weight-Loss Cure "They" Don't Want You to Know About. In a 2004 settlement, he agreed to pay a $500,000 fine and cease marketing all products except his books, which are protected under the First Amendment.[2] In 2011, he was fined $37.6 million for violating the 2004 settlement, and ordered to post a $2 million bond before engaging in any future infomercial advertising.[3][4][5]

In 2013, facing consequences for non-payment of the $37 million judgment, Trudeau filed for bankruptcy protection.[6] His claims of insolvency were challenged by FTC lawyers, who maintained that he was hiding money in shell companies, and cited examples of continued lavish spending, such as $359 for a haircut.[7] In November 2013, Trudeau was convicted of criminal contempt,[8][9] and was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison in March 2014.[10][11] The Chicago Tribune reported in April 2014 that infomercials starring Trudeau and promoting his books continued to air regularly on United States television stations even though he was in jail at the time.[12] Trudeau left federal custody in 2022 after 8 years, after which the FTC continued to pursue the unpaid $37 million fine.[13]

  1. ^ "Why My Son Went Bad; Trouble Began with Adoption, Self-help Guru Says". Boston Herald. September 26, 2005. Archived from the original on March 16, 2008. Retrieved December 7, 2010. ...Kevin Trudeau, 42...
  2. ^ "Kevin Trudeau Banned from Infomercials For Three Years, Ordered to Pay More Than $5 Million for False Claims About Weight-Loss Book". ftc.gov. October 6, 2008.
  3. ^ "FTC v. Trudeau". Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  4. ^ Forward, Joe (November 30, 2011). "Infomercial guru must reimburse $37.6 million for misleading consumers". State Bar of Wisconsin. Archived from the original on December 5, 2011. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
  5. ^ Baynes, Terry; Jonathan Stempel (November 29, 2011). "TV pitchman Trudeau loses appeal of $37.6 million fine". Reuters. Archived from the original on December 5, 2011. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
  6. ^ Coenen, Tracy (April 15, 2013). "Kevin Trudeau Bankruptcy Filing". Sequence, Inc. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  7. ^ Janssen, Kim (September 18, 2013). "Infomercial king Kevin Trudeau thrown in jail after lavish spending". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
  8. ^ "U.S. TV pitchman Trudeau found guilty of criminal contempt". Reuters India. November 22, 2013. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015.
  9. ^ "Kevin Trudeau sentenced to 10 years in criminal contempt case". ABC7 Chicago. Archived from the original on March 17, 2014. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  10. ^ Meisner, Jason (March 7, 2014). "Kevin Trudeau sentenced to 10 years in prison". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on March 19, 2014. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  11. ^ Stempel, Jonathan (February 5, 2016). "U.S. TV pitchman Kevin Trudeau loses appeal of conviction, sentence". Reuters. Retrieved December 15, 2019. (Kevin) Trudeau is incarcerated at a minimum security prison camp in Montgomery, Alabama. He is eligible for release in July 2022.
  12. ^ Meisner, Jason (April 28, 2014). "Prison doesn't keep pitchman off TV". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference chicago-2022-11-18 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).