Infomercial King Is Headed to Prison

Kevin Trudeau will no longer be seen on late night television pushing his books for miracle diets, free money and natural cures for cancer.

A federal judge has sentenced the silver-tongued king of infomercials to 10 years in prison for criminal contempt for violating a 2004 court order that prohibited him from lying in infomercials about the contents of his best-selling book, “The Weight Loss Cure ‘They’ Don’t Want You to Know About.”

According to The Associated Press, Trudeau ignored the order and aired his infomercials at least 32,000 times.

The Chicago Tribune said Trudeau described his weight-loss program as easy, but in reality it requires severe calorie and food restrictions, as well as hormone treatments.

Trudeau was also fined $37.6 million by the Federal Trade Commission in a related civil case, but he never paid a dime, the AP said. Trudeau claimed he was broke and couldn’t foot the bill for the judgment.

U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman handed down a tongue-lashing and stiff sentence to Trudeau, the Tribune said.

“He has treated federal court orders as if they were mere suggestions … or at most impediments to be sidestepped, outmaneuvered or just ignored,” Guzman said in handing down an unusually lengthy prison term for a contempt conviction. “That type of conduct simply cannot stand.”

In addressing Guzman, Trudeau apologized and claimed to be a changed man. But Guzman showed little sympathy, saying the 50-year-old Trudeau has been cheating people for 30 years, even going as far as using his mother’s Social Security number for a scam. The Tribune said:

“That doesn’t happen by accident, and it doesn’t happen by good intentions,” the judge said. “It is a reflection of a person’s character.”

According to CNN, Trudeau’s defense attorney said his client plans to appeal the case.

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