Trudeau sold more than 800,000 copies of the weight-loss book through infomercials and ads claiming it was an “easy” cure for obesity. But he failed to reveal that the plan requires, among other things, prescription injections of hormones found only in pregnant women.
The Chicago Tribune reports that the tentative refund plan okayed by a U.S. District Court in Illinois yesterday would issue refund checks of $11 to consumers already identified as having purchased Trudeau’s book.
For those who may not be intimately familiar with the story of Mr. Trudeau, here’s a quick recap.
In 2004, the Federal Trade Commission slapped Trudeau on the wrists for making misleading claims about a calcium product he said could cure cancer, and something called “Biotape” that Trudeau touted as a permanent cure for severe pain. As part of that settlement, he agreed to no longer make misleading product statements about the things he marketed.
Three years later, Trudeau was found in contempt of that earlier agreement for misrepresenting the content of his bestselling weight-loss book. He was subsequently ordered to pay a $38 million civil penalty.
In spite of that contempt action, Trudeau soldiered on, continuing to make deceptive claims about the book. In infomercials, he said the program required no exercise when it in fact calls for an hour of walking each day, along with a potentially dangerous 500 calorie/day diet.
In Nov. 2013, he was convicted on charges of criminal contempt.
The TV pitchman has previously pleaded poverty for his inability to repay the millions he owes, but the FTC said in 2013 that Trudeau was living a rather well-off life in Australia before his conviction.
Trudeau is believed to have amassed nearly half a billion dollars before his criminal conviction. Much of his money was reportedly been diverted to banks in Switzerland and the Caribbean.
by Chris Morran via Consumerist
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