Lying has a way of catching up to you. Especially when you do it on television for years.
Kevin Trudeau, author of “The Weight-Loss Cure ‘They’ Don’t Want You to Know About” and infomercial star, has gotten in trouble for lying before. Slate, writing about the latest, sums it up nicely:
A man who’s done jail time for fraud, a man who got rich making multiple false claims, someone who sold “coral calcium” claiming that it can cure cancer, and has been found in contempt of court for not paying a whopping $37 million fine laid on him — has again been found guilty of contempt of court.
This time, his stay behind bars is likely to last longer. In under 45 minutes, a federal jury found him guilty of criminal contempt of court, a crime with no maximum sentence, Slate says. The jury determined he willfully misrepresented what his diet book was about in infomercials that aired in 2006 and 2007.
The book required all kinds of crazy things, including a 500-calorie-per-day diet, use of a prescription hormone banned for use in dieting, and colon cleansing, The Chicago Sun-Times says says. Yet on TV, Trudeau claimed his book “is not a diet, is not portion control, is not calorie counting.”
The judge, Ronald Guzman, had Trudeau taken into custody out of fear he might try to flee law enforcement, the Sun-Times says. The court believes he has more than enough money to run away — and to pay the $37 million fine he’s been avoiding. He’ll be sentenced in February, The Chicago Tribune says.
Add a Comment
Our Policy: We welcome relevant and respectful comments in order to foster healthy and informative discussions. All other comments may be removed. Comments with links are automatically held for moderation.