# Kevin Trudeau is Going to Prison **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 18, 2014, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-trudeau-is-going-to-prison/683995 "2014-03-18T13:03:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-trudeau-is-going-to-prison/683995/41 "2014-03-19T01:23:58Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I mean, yeah! I fucking hate _Doonesbury_! Yeah, my first reaction was “What? The _Doonesbury_ guy is going to prison?” ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-trudeau-is-going-to-prison/683995/42 "2014-03-19T15:01:38Z")
[Sobering news:](http://www.salon.com/2014/03/19/were_a_nation_of_medical_conspiracy_nuts/) > [@](#): > > The latest evidence – and by evidence I mean actual data culled by professionals and not “something somebody thought he heard in the backmasking on a Hendrix track” — of our collective mania is a new study from the University of Chicago that reveals that nearly half of all Americans believe medical conspiracy theories. Nearly half. The findings, published this week in JAMA Internal Medicine, are culled from a study of 1,351 adults who were polled about their beliefs on six popular theories: “The CIA deliberately infected large numbers of African Americans with HIV under the guise of a hepatitis inoculation program,” “Doctors and government still want to vaccinate children even though they know these vaccines cause autism and other psychological disorders,” “The FDA is deliberately preventing the public from getting natural cures for cancer and other disorders because of pressure from drug companies,” “Health officials know that cell phones cause cancer but are doing nothing to stop it because large corporations won’t let them,” “Public water fluoridation is really just a secret way for chemical companies to dump the dangerous byproducts of phosphate mines into the environment,” and “The global dissemination of genetically modified foods by Monsanto is part of a secret program launched by the Rockefeller and Ford foundation to shrink the world’s population.” As the study’s authors write, “49% of Americans agree with at least one medical conspiracy theory and 18% agree with three or more.” Or, in the words of “30 Rock’s” Tracy Jordan, “White dudes inject AIDS into our chicken nuggets.” And this, right here, is how a man like Kevin Trudeau, a man who is now serving a ten year jail sentence for lying about what the mythic “they” don’t want you to know, managed to spend months on the New York Times bestseller list and make himself an embarrassment of riches. Trudeau is only a small part of the problem. And we can’t lock 'em **all** up, can we? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2014, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-trudeau-is-going-to-prison/683995/43 "2014-03-22T15:26:37Z")
Since I never argue one side without knowing the other side, I’ve read Trudeau’s books. He is a load of crap. His weight loss “cure” is the old HGC hormone technique, which includes a 600 calorie a day diet. He claims that after you eat like that for 60 years, you will be able to eat anything you want in any amount you want with some (like about 100) exceptions. All in all, he’s going to where he should be. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2014, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-trudeau-is-going-to-prison/683995/44 "2014-03-23T00:54:03Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > This asshole’s gonna get his colonics in prison, all right… Don’t con men get the most respect in prison (or whatever low security gig Trudeau winds up with)? ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2014, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-trudeau-is-going-to-prison/683995/45 "2014-03-23T19:11:56Z")
> [@MostlyUseless](#): > > Agree totally. At least the Ronco guy had the Pocket Fisherman. This guy is just a total suit with nothing in it. Ron Popiel had some nifty (if somewhat hokey) products and gave people what they paid for. Why insult him by using his name in the same thread as the Douchebag Trudeau? ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2014, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-trudeau-is-going-to-prison/683995/46 "2014-03-23T20:11:42Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Ron Popiel had some nifty (if somewhat hokey) products and gave people what they paid for. Why insult him by using his name in the same thread as the Douchebag Trudeau? The Pocket Fisherman is back, too. I just saw a NEW ad for it last night on TV! And the Rotisserie is (apparently, I’ve never used it but the reviews are good) a decent product. But yeah, Popeil actually gives you a tangible product (even if the quality isn’t as good as he implies). All Trudeau gives you is conspiracy theories, bogus remedies, and a drain on your finances. He’s been such a successful flim-flam man because he used the conspiracy theories to sell you the bogosity, and there are a lot of people out there who believe in conspiracy before science. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2014, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-trudeau-is-going-to-prison/683995/47 "2014-03-23T22:37:33Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Hah. I knew the Canadian government was fraudulent! _listens to earpiece_ I mean, yeah! I fucking hate _Doonesbury_! _listens to earpiece_ … _diet_ books? Whooooosh to me! Now that this has been kind of explained, I have to tell you that it is very funny! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-trudeau-is-going-to-prison/683995/48 "2014-03-24T02:19:57Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Yeah, my first reaction was “What? The _Doonesbury_ guy is going to prison?” No, that’s _Pierre_ Trudeau. ---
**Author:** ![Chen019](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f19dbf/32.png) [@Chen019](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chen019)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-trudeau-is-going-to-prison/683995/49 "2014-03-24T04:21:44Z")
> [@Cubsfan](#): > > Isn’t that the mega memory guy? Also math magic? I bought Mega-Memory at Uni & it works really well. Not sure about his other material/products. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-trudeau-is-going-to-prison/683995/50 "2014-03-24T04:49:25Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > No, that’s _Pierre_ Trudeau. Justin Trudeau, these days… ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-trudeau-is-going-to-prison/683995/51 "2014-03-24T04:57:46Z")
> [@Cubsfan](#): > > Isn’t that the mega memory guy? Also math magic? I looked at the mega memory system he used, as other reported many of the methods were not new, they were repackaged; sure, they would work for some, but the mark of a flim flam artist is to claim that this would be guaranteed to work or your money back. That offer was in practice not valid by his company if you got the material with a credit card though. :rolleyes: The FTC made this early press release back in 1998 about his first runs in with the law: > **[Informercial Marketers Settle FTC Charges](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/1998/01/informercial-marketers-settle-ftc-charges)** > > Eight marketers of self-help and health-related products promoted in radio and television infomercials have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that ad claims for their products were > [@](#): > > An infomercial for Kevin Trudeau’s Mega Memory System claimed that scientific studies of his system showed that it could help anyone achieve a photographic memory, even people with learning disabilities or low IQ’s. “Kevin Trudeau’s breakthrough techniques were developed while working with blind and mentally handicapped students,” the infomercial said. “Their recall ability increased from 15% to 90% in just 5 days,” it said, and stated that the techniques were “. . . guaranteed to work for you.” In fact, the FTC alleges, the memory system would not enable users to achieve a photographic memory, and the advertising claims were false. People with learning disabilities or low IQs… [Looks back to the ones that did use it…] Nahh, too easy. 🙂 What I can say is that mega memory was bound to be useful for some, but not all are able to make it work, hence the reason why the hammer landed on Trudeau for making promises that could not be met. One really needs to be very careful to not fall for crackpots. In light of what was found, this review from Amazon is a good one to keep in mind: [http://www.amazon.com/Kevin-Trudeaus-Mega-Memory-Superpower/product-reviews/0688153879](http://www.amazon.com/Kevin-Trudeaus-Mega-Memory-Superpower/product-reviews/0688153879) > [@](#): > > If all these memory tricks were so successful, they would not need reinvention every so many years and to be resold. The first time they were discovered would have done the trick and we would have used them from that time on, they would have become time honored techniques. However, they had only marginal success when they first came out, and that is why they all went the way of the dinosaurs. > > Then the ideas are resurrected by a new author, repackaged, and once again we have more memory secrets that will help you recall all those things that are in your brain. This book is nothing more than rehashed hash. Oh, some will find the explanations new and inviting, but the real test is your memory. > > … > > Personally, it did nothing for me. I have a nearly photographic memory now and can recall conversations, data, written word, nearly perfectly and for years after. That is just the way my mind is, and I noticed no change in it whatever. Most of my friends who used the book threw it away before they even finished it because it was frustrating and accomplished nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Fool\_in\_the\_Rain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fool\_in\_the\_Rain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fool_in_the_Rain)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-trudeau-is-going-to-prison/683995/52 "2014-03-24T17:58:19Z")
> [@Kolga](#): > > Whenever I run across one of his books in a thrift store that catalogs their books by type, I get gleeful chuckles by moving Trudeau’s books from the non-fiction to the fiction section. **If the fiction section is typed by genre, I choose science fiction/fantasy.** > > Good riddance, you evil motherfucker. _Bolding mine._ Heeeey!!! Sci-fi and fantasy are more believable than his crap…put it with those Rush Limbaugh books, over there ====\> ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-trudeau-is-going-to-prison/683995/53 "2014-03-24T20:16:03Z")
When he gets out, or maybe even before, he’ll have his next book – “What THEY Didn’t Want Me To Tell You About Your Fantastic Future!” ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-trudeau-is-going-to-prison/683995/54 "2014-03-24T20:40:56Z")
A friend of my brother was/is all caught up in Trudeaus bullshit. Even has a picture of him with Trudeau on his Facebook page. I was stunned to hear that and some time ago at a wedding reception I told this guy that I’d always thought he was too smart to buy into crap like this. The gobbledygook that came out of his mouth was a BLT of conspiracy theory, intellectualism, and insanity. I just walked away. It’s like trying to reason with someone who is snared in a cult. ---
**Author:** ![banjoDavid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3d9bf3/32.png) [@banjoDavid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/banjoDavid)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-trudeau-is-going-to-prison/683995/55 "2014-03-24T21:19:37Z")
PUBLIC APOLOGY I worked with Kevin Trudeau for a couple of years. I was a studio engineer at Nightingale-Conant during the late 80’s until I got fired 16 years ago. I recorded Mega Math and Mega Speed Reading. I condensed Mega Memory from 6 a hour program to a 2 hour program. In order to do that, I had to get Trudeau’s OK for the edits, as stipulated in his contract. I had to work through his attorney, because he was in the Federal pen for credit card fraud. I recorded the training tapes for the Nutrition for Life multi-level marketing scheme he was involved with. I was the low man on the totem pole at Nightingale, and Kevin Trudeau was part of the stuff I had to deal with. He told me one day, just as an aside, “I spend most of my time in court with lawyers.” The speed reading program with Howard Berg was really bad. This was in the day they were publishing 6 cassette programs. Side 12 was Kevin pitching his other products. The program needed a lot of editing, but I was told to push it through fast, and skip the editing. Some distribution company heard it and refused to sell it the way it was, so I was told to re-edit. There was time to do it over, but not time to do it right in the first place. When I joined Nightingale-Conant in 1987, there were about 250 employees. It was a well respected motivational and sales training tape company, the best. I was proud of the stuff I worked on, and I learned a lot. When Trudeau got out of the pen, he and his cellmate Jules got involved in Nutrition for Life, an Amway-style pyramid scheme scam, and we produced the tapes they sold. Not we, I. I recorded him in Studio A for 2 or 3 years, i don’t remember many details. Jules did a Yoda impression that he thought was hilarious. I had to record this crap, it was my day job. Trudeau did TV infomercials with Danny Bonnaduce about some health products around that time. Nightingale housed the Trudeau Marketing Group in the building for a while, and the morale slid downhill. People were laid off from Nightingale in a few waves. Mike, Rose, Roger, Steve, and many others. When I was laid off in March of 1997, they fired 50 people that day. The personnel director had a sign on his desk that could be moved around to say, “Have a nice day,” or " Take a hike." I took a hike. I’m still pissed off and bummed. It was a good company, and buying into Trudeau’s scams cost them their reputation and a lot of jobs, mine among them. I think there are about 35 people working there now. Trudreau is long gone from Nightingale, and they don’t even sell his stuff anymore. He does that on his own. Before you buy from Kevin Trudeau, read on the internet about the complaints against him. I’m not making this stuff up. Thanks for letting me rant ---
**Author:** ![Burns65](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/96bed5/32.png) [@Burns65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burns65)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-trudeau-is-going-to-prison/683995/56 "2014-03-25T06:11:12Z")
that they don’t want you to know about!! I’m sorry, but someone had to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-trudeau-is-going-to-prison/683995/57 "2014-03-25T13:39:39Z")
101 Ways to Conceal Things Inside Your Bodily Orifices That THEY Don’t Want You To Know About!\* \*No, really. They really really don’t want you to know about them. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-trudeau-is-going-to-prison/683995/58 "2014-04-03T17:43:21Z")
> [@Fool\_in\_the\_Rain](#): > > _Bolding mine._ > > Heeeey!!! Sci-fi and fantasy are more believable than his crap…put it with those Rush Limbaugh books, over there ====\> True Crime might be more suitable. The books certainly are criminally bad. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-trudeau-is-going-to-prison/683995/59 "2014-04-04T03:12:56Z")
> [@banjoDavid](#): > > I’m still pissed off and bummed. It was a good company, and buying into Trudeau’s scams cost them their reputation… Yeah, I remember when Nightingale-Conant had a very good reputation. I think my brother worked there in the 70s–was their warehouse in Des Plaines back then? ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-trudeau-is-going-to-prison/683995/60 "2014-04-04T11:50:28Z")
I figured since he was in prison his shows wouldn’t be on anymore, but while I was engaged in some insomnia-induced channel surfing, I saw his “debt cures” infomercial on CMT. Seems so wrong. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-trudeau-is-going-to-prison/683995.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-trudeau-is-going-to-prison/683995.md?page=4)