It would seem that all the late night claims of magic cures and weight loss finally caught up to Kevin Trudeau. He’s now heading behind bars for the next ten years after breaking a 2004 court order against running false ads for his book, “The Weight Loss Cure ‘They’ Don’t Want You to Know About.” He did not listen and aired ads over 32,000 times, netting nearly $39 million in revenue. From The AP:
As he imposed the sentence prosecutors had requested, U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman portrayed the 50-year-old Trudeau as a habitual fraudster going back to his early adulthood. So brazen was Trudeau, the judge said, he once even used his own mother’s Social Security number in a scheme.
“Since his 20s, he has steadfastly attempted to cheat others for his own gain,” Guzman said, adding that Trudeau is “deceitful to the very core.”
Trudeau, whose trademark dyed black hair turned partially gray as he awaited sentencing in jail, showed little emotion as the stiff sentence was handed down at the hearing in Chicago.
Addressing the judge earlier in a 10-minute statement, Trudeau apologized and said he’s become a changed man. He said he’s meditated, prayed and read self-help books while locked up at Chicago’s Metropolitan Correctional Center.
I’m curious if any of those books were by Trudeau? Did they check them for escape tools first? If there’s a big poster of Raquel Welch hanging in his cell, I’d be suspicious. Better give him a tune up in the laundry, just so he knows who is in charge.
I’m a bit torn with this news though. On one hand, I love that a scumbag like Trudeau is going behind bars. Even if I feel I’m a grade A scum myself, guys like him give guys like me a bad name. I can’t handle that.
But at the same time, not everyone that bought his books was a desperate case that was down on their luck or facing horrible disease. Some of them were just really stupid and probably deserved to lose their money if they’re spending $39 dollars on a book they saw on late night television.
I guess there are millions of sexy women waiting to tell me what a great idea a reverse mortgage is so I can get connected at education connection. The only problem is they don’t seem to do it for free.
