The Kevin Trudeau Debt Cures Scam?

Kevin Trudeau has had a long line of criminal charges. He was first tried in 1990 for credit card identity theft and larceny. He was also involved in a multi-level marketing program called Nutrition for Life in 1996. He and his then-business partner Jules Leib were sued by the state of Illinois for illegal practices; in fact, the state of Michigan has prohibited them from operating in the area.

He has also been notorious for being constantly head-to-head with the Federal Trade Commission. The ruckus with the Commission started in 1998, when he made misleading statements on the products he was selling, which included a “hair farming system” that guaranteed to permanently cure hair loss. Trudeau also introduced an “Addiction Breaking System,” which asserted that it could cure all kinds of addictions within sixty minutes. The FTC fined him $500,000 for the false statements he created. In 2003, the FTC charged him for a dietary supplement called Coral Calcium Supreme. The miracle drug, claiming to be made from marine coral extracted in Japan, purportedly could heal cancer, heart disease, lupus, multiple sclerosis, and a host of other diseases. Aside from the drug, he was promoting a pain reliever called Biotape, which boasted that it could permanently relieve pain. Included in the complaint against him were his partner Robert Barefoot, along with their companies Shop America LLC and Deonna Entreprises Inc. As a result of the charges, Trudeau paid $2 million for a settlement a year later. He was also banned by the court from promoting products on infomercials.

However, Trudeau continued to persist. A few years later, he began promoting self-help books on his infomercials. One of his books, The Weight-Loss Cure 'They' Don't Want You to Know About, sparked attention both from consumers and from the FTC, and this book was again promoted through infomercials. While there was a limited exemption on marketing books and other publications in his infomercials, he was still ordered by court not to misrepresent himself.

Trudeau's book claimed that his weight-loss cure would be fast, easy to follow, and can be done at home. He also stressed that readers of his book could eat anything that they wanted once the program was finished. Instead, customers who tried Trudeau's suggestions instead found themselves having difficulty keeping up with his dieting regimen. Part of the rules illustrated in his book stated that dieters needed to be injected with colonics, which needed to be performed at a licensed doctor's office, as well as a human growth hormone. The FTC stressed that this drug was not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for losing weight. They also asserted that Trudeau's statement regarding eating whatever what was desired actually proved false, after pointing out a portion in the book which stated that “Phase 4 (of the diet) is for the rest of your life.”

As a result, in August 7, 2008, an order was issued against Trudeau banning him from appearing in infomercials for three years. A penalty of over $5 million dollars was fined against him. A few months later, in November, US District Court Judge Robert Gettleman revised the judgment served on him. The amount was raised to over $37 million dollars, which was the total amount that the customers paid in response to the items and books he sold.

In spite of these legal proceedings, Trudeau has still managed to release books on debt relief. Aside from the aforementioned Debt Cures book, he also released Recession Cures-Get Rich in Tough Times. The book offers ways to earn wealth in spite of the economic crisis. Critics have addressed that the content of both these financial self-help manuals, both sold at $40-$45 each, are unoriginal and can readily found on the Internet for free.

A parting shot

Doing your research is always important before subscribing to an “easy” and “manageable” way of getting out of debt. Each financial advisor out there may say that their approach is the best available way there is, but the choice is still entirely yours. It will ultimately depend on whose plan of action is most suitable to your current financial situation.

Related resources:

Debt advice by Suze Orman

How to pay off debt by Dave Ramsey

John Cummuta on becoming debt free