Informercial marketer Kevin Trudeau owes the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) $37.6 million in fines but has yet to pay a dime, according to documents filed in federal court.
Trudeau has constantly run afoul of the FTC over the years for his pitches for miracle weight loss cures, get rich quick schemes and natural cures. In every case, Trudeau's products, contained in book form, are presented in conspiratorial fashion, as information "they don't want you to know about."
Trudeau has been a constant source of complaints to ConsumerAffairs.com over the years.
"I ordered Kevin Trudeau's Narual Cures books and paid with a credit card on May 4," Gale, of Philadelphia, told ConsumerAffairs.com. "To this day I have not gotten the books, yet have been calling for a month. They give me a different story every time."
"I bought the book for $19.95 but was charged $23.90 for shipping and handling," complained William, of Chesterfield, Mich. "That 19.95 book ended up costing me 43.85."
Long-running battle
In 2004, the FTC obtained a court order banning Trudeau, a prolific marketer who has either appeared in or produced hundreds of infomercials, from appearing in, producing, or disseminating future infomercials that advertise any type of product, service, or program to the public, except for truthful infomercials for informational publications.
That's when Trudeau shifted gears and started selling books. But he still found himself in hot water with the FTC, which accused him of making all sorts of unfounded and outright bogus claims. The FTC has now filed documents claiming Trudeau, who continues to sell books and air infomercials, hasn't made good on any of the $37.6 million fine.
Meanwhile, it appears that working for Trudeau is a -- well -- interesting experience.
TheSmokingGun.com has published a series of what it says are memos written by Trudeau to his staff. The directives cover everything from using a dictionary, to maintaining a clean desk, to drinking fruit juice. They are interspersed with strong plugs for Scientology.
Neat freak
"Offices should be arranged as follows," one memo reads. "The desk should have virtually nothing on it. Your desk should have a phone and, maybe a picture of your significant other. The ideal scene is to have a computer screen behind the desk. There should be nothing else on the desk. The inside of the desk must also be clean and organized."
The memo warns that there will be regular inspections of desks to make sure employees are following the directive.
Another memo explains that he wants fresh juice machines in every office and that employees are strongly urged "to drink juice, or consider drinking juice," every day.
The FTC is currently engaged in "post-judgment discovery" in an attempt to identify and attach Trudeau's assets to satisfy his hefty debt to the government.
