Kevin Trudeau had several conspiracy theories. One of which is that in the 1950s a British doctor (A.T.W. Simeons) discovered a "miracle drug" that would change the body's metabolism, allowing you to eat whatever you liked, and maintain a healthy weight. However, in this theory, the powerful food and diet industry conspired to cover up this secret.
Trudeau wrote a book "The Weight Loss Cure 'They' Don't Want You to Know About", and with the help of some very seductive infomercials the book shot to #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list. The infomercial depicted a very enticing diet, where you could eat steak and chocolate. But the reality was very different, with the book calling for a period of eating just 500 calories a day, taking lots of herbal supplements, and injections of the hCG hormone.
Trudeau had previously been fined for making misleading claims regarding herbal remedies - about which he also promoted conspiracy theories regarding "big pharma". As part of his then plea agreement he had agreed not to make any more misleading claims, however on Nov 12th 2013, Trudeau was convicted of criminal contempt for precisely that.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...in-tv-pitchmans-case-20131112,0,2063993.story
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Trudeau
Trudeau wrote a book "The Weight Loss Cure 'They' Don't Want You to Know About", and with the help of some very seductive infomercials the book shot to #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list. The infomercial depicted a very enticing diet, where you could eat steak and chocolate. But the reality was very different, with the book calling for a period of eating just 500 calories a day, taking lots of herbal supplements, and injections of the hCG hormone.
Trudeau had previously been fined for making misleading claims regarding herbal remedies - about which he also promoted conspiracy theories regarding "big pharma". As part of his then plea agreement he had agreed not to make any more misleading claims, however on Nov 12th 2013, Trudeau was convicted of criminal contempt for precisely that.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...in-tv-pitchmans-case-20131112,0,2063993.story
Alternative medicine has many adherents, and many people remain convinced that Trudeau is not a con-man, a the victim of a real conspiracy. But Trudeau's "cures" seem utterly without evidence, and everything he does seems designed only to make money, based upon exploiting people's willingness to believe conspiracy theories, combines with some reasonable sounding criticisms of conflicts of interest and profit motives.
TV pitchman Kevin Trudeau was convicted today of criminal contempt for airing misleading infomercials about a diet book he published.
The federal jury deliberated for less than an hour before handing down the verdict in the downtown Chicago courthouse. Trudeau faces the possibility of years in prison.
Trudeau, 50, was found guilty of violating the terms of a decade-old consent order in which he promised the Federal Trade Commission that he would stop making misleading ads touting his books.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Trudeau
Trudeau says that pharmaceutical companies "don't want us to get well" because curing disease is not nearly as profitable as treating it in perpetuity. According to Trudeau, the corporate profit motive overrides the human desire to truly help people.
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He states in one infomercial that there are twelve known cures for cancer but that they are being kept from the general public by the FDA, the FTC, and the pharmaceutical companies. He also says that the FDA and the FTC are two of the most corrupt organizations in America and that there is a long list of chemical ingredients that are secretly not required to be on the FDA ingredients label that are damaging to human health.
Trudeau offers a conspiracy theory, saying that the drug industry and the FDA work with each other to effectively deceive the public by banning all-natural cures in order to protect the profits of the drug industry. Trudeau says that FDA commissioners who leave the FDA to work for large drug companies are paid millions of dollars. In any other industry, according to Trudeau, this would be called "bribery," a "conflict of interest" or "payoffs." Trudeau also says in his infomercials that the food industry includes chemicals (such as MSG and aspartame) to get people "addicted to food" and to "make people obese."[39]
Trudeau has also declared that he will lead a crusade against the FDA and the FTC and will make an effort to sue companies who promote false claims in advertising, such as leading pharmaceutical companies.
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