No More Kevin Trudeau Infomercials? Not So Fast…

November 30th, 2010

WalletPop

By: Mitch Lipka

Just when it seemed as if infomercial king Kevin Trudeau was dealt a final knockout blow in his never-ending bout with the Federal Trade Commission, the Teflon pitchman is at it again – and he’s as cocky as ever.

Who was that guy talking smack about the FTC at 5 a.m. the other night? You guessed it.

After his latest round in court, it appeared as though TV’s insomnia-hours fixture had been banned from the airwaves. A federal appeals court allowed part of an earlier ruling to stand that severely limits Trudeau’s commercial appearances, permitting him on only previously-aired productions he doesn’t directly profit from. To air a new production, a judge said he must post a $2 million bond (the FTC asked for the bond to be set at $10 million) or be held in contempt of court.

“We’re on the air every day,” Trudeau says in an interview with Consumer Ally. “I haven’t posted a bond so I’m not airing any new shows.”

In characteristic fashion, Trudeau has found a way to remain in the spotlight. He’s not directly profiting from the books he’s currently promoting — Debt Cures and Free Money — because the rights are owned by a third party, but he’s still right there in front of the cameras pitching away in the wee hours of the morning.

To the FTC and the courts, Trudeau’s recent appearances are just one more slap in the face. The FTC has branded him a modern day snakeoil salesman who misleads consumers into buying a wide range of products that he claims can help people beat cancer, fix their finances, improve their memory… basically, fix almost anything.

It’s a cat and mouse game that has been going on for more than a decade. In 1998, the FTC and Trudeau negotiated a settlement over allegations his advertisements for “Hair Farming,” “Mega Memory System,” “Addiction Breaking System,” “Action Reading,” “Eden’s Secret,” and “Mega Reading” were deceptive. Then, in 2004, he was banned from infomercials — except for selling books — and settled his case with FTC by agreeing to pay $500,000 cash and by surrendering a “luxury vehicle” and a home in California. A few years later,Trudeau was back in the FTC’s crosshairs regarding claims he was making about his book The Weight Loss Cure ‘They’ Don’t Want You to Know About.

The agency filed a lawsuit alleging Trudeau was using deceptive tactics to sell the book. Earlier this year, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Gettleman fined Trudeau $37.6 million and banned him from infomercials for three years. If Trudeau were to air one of his traditionally long-form infomercials (the ones that resemble a talk show with only attractive women as guests) he would have to pay up. (Gettleman also found Trudeau in criminal contempt for exhorting his followers to pepper the judge with so many emails of support that they crashed his computer).

“Trudeau willfully deceived thousands of consumers by producing and publishing the deceptive infomercial at issue regarding the Weight Loss Cure book, causing tens of millions of dollars in losses to those consumers,” Gettleman wrote in his order earlier this year. “The court has no faith in the notion that Trudeau has somehow been reformed by these proceedings or anything else that has happened since the publications of the offending infomercials in 2007. Indeed, Trudeau continues to deny that he did anything wrong, contends that his deceptive information is somehow protected by the Constitution, and pretends that he did not profit from the book or the infomercials and thus should not have to pay anything to the people he deceived.”

Trudeau is appealing Gettleman’s ruling and and is contemplating elevating his fight to the U.S. Supreme Court. “We’re pretty bullish the ruling is blatantly unconstitutional,” Trudeau says.

In fact, he maintains that while the FTC claims to be acting on behalf of consumers, he has done no harm to them. Trudeau says he has made more than 500 infomercials that have generated some $3 billion in sales and has never been the target of litigation over false or misleading advertising that came from customers.

“There’s not one consumer complaint at the FTC office,” he says. “It just shows the frivolous nature of what they’re trying to do.This is not about protecting customers.”

An FTC spokeswoman said the agency would not discuss Trudeau or the pending litigation. In fact, Trudeau remains a rather sensitive subject.

While the FTC refuses to engage outside of court with Trudeau, he knows no such bounds and, in a conversation with Consumer Ally, once again skewered the federal government and the judge’s decision.

“I’m very proud of what I’m doing. I don’t think we should be restricted or intimidated by the government when you write a book that they don’t like,” Trudeau tells Consumer Ally. “It’s blatant prior restraint. The government can’t stop you from doing something legally.”

Yet, even with all of this rhetoric, Trudeau has lost a few rounds in the past (he freely acknowledges his felony convictions from cons pulled in his younger days) and the government’s pursuit has had an impact on some of his actions. Now, nearly 80% of his business interests are overseas, for example.

“I find the business environment here very restrictive,” he says.

He even claims that the government has begun harassing him. “When you start blowing the whistle on what’s going on in Washington… I said I will be attacked,” he says. “Every single time (I fly), my bags are looked through. That’s statistically impossible.”

Will Trudeau beat the odds again and regain his place on U.S. airwaves or finally wilt under the relentless pressue of the government? Stay tuned.

Click here for the full report from WalletPop

Trudeau Nets Contempt Appeal

May 21, 2010

The Chicago Tribune

By Duaa Eldeib

Infomercial pitchman Kevin Trudeau was spared 30 days in prison when a federal appeals court Thursday overturned a ruling in which a judge held him in criminal contempt of court.

U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman had made the ruling after Trudeau urged supporters to communicate with the judge, and the judge’s e-mail inbox was flooded with messages.

Gettleman has been presiding over a dispute between the Federal Trade Commission and Trudeau regarding Trudeau’s hair- and weight-loss treatments.

Click here for the full report.

Judge Dismisses Trudeau Contempt Conviction

May 21, 2010

ABC News

Author and infomercial pitchman Kevin Trudeau will not have to serve a 30-day jail sentence for contempt of court.

Click here for the full report.

Infomercial King Avoids Jail Time for E-mail Deluge

May 21, 2010

Chicago Sun Times

It’s a jail sentence they don’t want him to serve.

Infomercial king and best-selling author Kevin Trudeau, who markets his products as things “They don’t want you to know about,” won’t have to serve a 30-day contempt of court jail sentence because a federal appeals court threw the sentence out Thursday.

U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman had ordered Trudeau to spend 30 days in jail for urging his followers to deluge Gettleman with e-mails as the judge prepared to make a key decision in a Federal Trade Commission case against Trudeau.

That shut down the judge’s BlackBerry and clogged his e-mail inbox in February. Most of the 300 e-mails were “polite and enthusiastic,” the appellate court noted, but some had “threatening overtones.”

“This was an attempt by Mr. Trudeau to harass, intimidate and influence the court,” Gettleman said at the time. But the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the penalty and sent the case back to the judge.

Click here for the full report.

7th Circuit Nixes 30-Day Jail Term for Infomercial Pitchman Whose Fans Flooded Judge’s E-Mail Inbox

May 20, 2010

ABAJournal

by Martha Neil

A 30-day jail term for criminal contempt imposed on an infomercial pitchman after his followers flooded a federal judge’s BlackBerry and courthouse computer inbox with e-mail has been nixed by the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Court of Appeals.

Because U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman didn’t actually see the conduct at issue, which occurred outside the courtroom, and there was no need for an immediate, emergency sanction to keep his courtroom functioning, his summary finding that Kevin Trudeau was in direct criminal contempt was inappropriate, according to the court’s opinion today.

And, because the summary disposition of the case, without an evidentiary hearing, hasn’t established a sufficient record to determine on appeal whether a criminal contempt finding was appropriate under standard procedures, the appeals court vacated not only Trudeau’s 30-day sentence but the contempt finding itself.

However, Trudeau could still be found in contempt on remand, after evidence is presented, the appeals court said. His followers sent some 300 e-mails to the judge within 36 hours, some with threatening overtones.

As the court recounts in the opinion, Trudeau was already in federal court in Chicago for a civil contempt proceeding when the e-mail issue intervened. Initially fined $40 million for violating a consent order requiring him not to misrepresent the contents of his books on television, he was awaiting a new penalty after the 7th Circuit overturned the $40 million fine.

Meanwhile, he wound up being held in criminal contempt after urging his fans to e-mail Gettleman. The resulting deluge reportedly crashed both the judge’s BlackBerry and his court computer. (Gettleman thought he had not made his e-mail address public, but Northwestern University School of Law, where he teaches as an adjunct, had included it on his faculty Web listing, the opinion notes.)

Click here to read the full report

Court Spares Infomercial Pitchman From Jail

May 20, 2010

Google.com

An appeals court in Chicago has ruled that an infomercial pitchman won’t have to serve a 30-day jail sentence for getting his supporters to flood a federal judge’s e-mail inbox.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed Kevin Trudeau’s contempt of court conviction on Thursday. It says a judge cannot find a defendant in contempt on the spot and without a hearing unless the offending action occurred in the presence of the judge.

U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman found Trudeau in contempt after his computer and BlackBerry were jammed with e-mails from Trudeau’s supporters. Gettleman argued that a contempt ruling was appropriate because his computer was part of his court.

The judge has overseen a long-running legal battle between Trudeau and the Federal Trade Commission.

Click here for the full report

Kevin Trudeau Off The Hook For Contempt Citation

May 20, 2010

SunTimes.com

Infomerical King Kevin Trudeau is off the hook.

An appeals court Thursday morning threw out a federal judge’s contempt of court citation against the TV pitchman.

Author and infomercial king Kevin Trudeau was sentenced to 30 days in prison Wednesday after a federal judge last week found him in criminal contempt.

U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman ordered Trudeau to spend 30 days in jail for urging his followers to deluge Gettleman with e-mails as the judge prepared to make a key decision in a case against Trudeau.

The shenanigans shut down the judge’s BlackBerry and clogged his e-mail inbox.

But the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals — which stayed Trudeau’s sentence pending the appeal — vacated Gettleman’s penalty.

When they heard the appeal last month, appellate court judges questioned whether Gettleman stepped out of bounds by ordering Trudeau to spend 30 days in jail.

In arguments before the appellate judges, Trudeau’s lawyer, Kimball Anderson, said even when the president is sent an e-mail threat, the person accused of sending the threat gets a hearing.

After making a criminal contempt finding in February, Gettleman sentenced Trudeau on his own power.

“There’s nothing that says judges get more power than the president of the United States,” Anderson said last month.

Appellate Judge Ilana Rovner looked around in mock surprise last month. “Do you realize where you are?” she said, to laughter in the courtroom.

The three-judge panel hearing the argument seemed interested in whether Trudeau’s actions could be defined as criminal contempt of court because they happened outside of the court’s presence.

Anderson argued that such a finding could come only when the misbehavior occurs inside the courtroom.

In February Trudeau urged his supporters to e-mail Gettleman to influence him on an upcoming decision in a civil case against Trudeau over deceptive ads.

Gary Feinerman, appointed to argue on behalf of the judge’s order, said Trudeau intentionally stirred up his followers to send angry e-mails and that with today’s technology, a computer is considered part of the judge’s courtroom.

“The court, at that point, was under attack,” he said.

Click here to read the full report

Infomercial Pitchman Avoids Jail

May 20, 2010

WREX.com

An appeals court in Chicago says infomercial pitchman and author Kevin Trudeau won’t have to serve a 30-day jail sentence for getting his supporters to flood a federal judge’s computer with e-mails.

The appeals court on Thursday dismissed Trudeau’s contempt of court conviction, saying an act of contempt must occur in the presence of the judge.

U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman had found Trudeau in contempt after his computer and BlackBerry were both jammed with e-mails from Trudeau’s supporters.

The appeals court disagreed with Gettleman’s finding that Trudeau had in effect committed contempt in the presence of the judge because the computer was a part of his court.

Trudeau has been fighting a battle with the Federal Trade Commission before Gettleman.

Click here to read the full report

Infomercial Pitchman Trudeau Wins Contempt Appeal

May 20, 2010

ChicagoBreakingNews.com

by Jeff Cohen

A federal appeals court today overturned a contempt of court ruling against infomercial pitchman Kevin Trudeau that would have sent him to prison for 30 days.

U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman had imposed the punishment after Trudeau had supporters flood the judge’s e-mail box with messages as the judge was presiding over a dispute between the Federal Trade Commission and Trudeau over claims Trudea made for various hair and weight loss drugs and treatments.

Gettleman had called the avalanche of e-mails an attempt to “harass, intimidate and influence” him.

In oral argument before the appeals court last month, Trudeau’s lawyer, Kimball Anderson, argued the e-mails were misguided but there had been no intent to disable Gettleman’s computers.

Gettleman’s position was argued by an appointed lawyer, Gary Feinerman, who said Trudeau had deliberately directed the e-mails, keeping the court from doing its job.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion, written by Judge John Daniel Tiner, called Gettleman’s judicial action “an abuse of discretion.”

Direct contempt of court, such as the one issued by Gettleman, is appropriate if the conduct occurs in the presence of the judge and disrupts proceedings in open court, the appeals court said. Gettleman had contended that requirement was satisfied because he could read the messages on the court computer, but the higher court rejected that idea.

The judge and his staff had to do research to determine the e-mails were in fact coming from Trudeau, the court found, which indicated the conduct was not something Gettleman had witnessed. And there was no indication that the contempt finding was needed to restore order, the court said.

“The record in this case is devoid of any suggestion that Trudeau’s summary punishment was necessary to restore the court’s ability to resume its duties,” the opinion states.

The appeals court noted the matter may be referred to the U.S. attorney’s office for prosecution.

Click here to read the full report

Infomercial Pitchman Avoids Jail

May 20, 2010

CBS2Chicago.com

An appeals court in Chicago says infomercial pitchman and author Kevin Trudeau won’t have to serve a 30-day jail sentence for getting his supporters to flood a federal judge’s computer with e-mails.

The appeals court on Thursday dismissed Trudeau’s contempt of court conviction, saying an act of contempt must occur in the presence of the judge.

U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman had found Trudeau in contempt after his computer and BlackBerry were both jammed with e-mails from Trudeau’s supporters.

The appeals court disagreed with Gettleman’s finding that Trudeau had in effect committed contempt in the presence of the judge because the computer was a part of his court.

Trudeau has been fighting a battle with the Federal Trade Commission before Gettleman.

Click here to read the full report

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