Most of this post is taken from recent postings on Facebook by Yours Truly and a very close friend of Yours Truly named Armza Kimbo, whose blanket permission I have to re-post. So if you happen to be a member of those Facebook forums and have a feeling of deja vu, there's your explanation.
~CC
Times is tough* when a serial scammer can't continue to live the opulent lifestyle to which he has become accustomed. But that's what may be happening to Whirled fave Kevin Trudeau. Soon, he may not be able to spend any of his hard-scammed money for fine cee-gars and the other accoutrements of a successful billionaire way of life. He may even have to go out and get a real job somewhere. Well, maybe.
If all goes as scheduled on the docket, lawyers from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will be in a Chicago court house again tomorrow, 4 September 2013, at 9:15 AM Central Daylight Time or thereabouts, to present a motion before the court to keep Trudeau's personal expenditures under even tighter control than they presumably already are (Case 1:03-cv-03904, the Honorable Robert W. Gettleman presiding).
The FTC is doing what they can to put a damper on what is left of Katie's lifestyle while the court-appointed receiver picks and scratches and digs through his business entities and personal assets, all in the service of scaring up the funds to pay that $37.6 million fine imposed on Katie for deceiving people with his weight-loss book. Filed on August 30, 2013, Document 744 is a motion by the FTC, accompanied by an exhibit supporting the motion (Document 744-1).
The FTC wants a modification in the receivership agreement; they want to put more restrictions on Kevin's personal expenditures from the receivership assets. They don't want him spending money for a luxurious lifestyle when that money could (theoretically) be given to victims -- that is, the people who feel they have been scammed by his weight-loss book a few years ago. (Keep in mind that this has nothing to do with compensating the many people who say they have been scammed by Trudeau's huge, elaborate, Ponzi-like Global Information Network (GIN).)
Now, whether or not that money really will go to victims remains to be seen. At least some of it is going to the receiver, and a lot of it has already gone to lawyers. But earmarking the funds to compensate the vics is the way the FTC is presenting the case.
(Here's a little bit of recent history regarding the Trudeau court cases, just in case you haven't caught up over the past couple of months.)
Regarding Document 744 and several that came before it, the bottom line is that if the FTC has its way, their quarry is going to be compelled to live... gasp!... a middle-class lifestyle, which is quite a comedown for Katie. But look at it this way: even with that he will still be much better off, at least materially, than the majority of the world's people. As the late great Bob Marley (and later, the late great Peter Tosh) sang in "Stop That Train," a long-time favorite of mine:
Some livin' big, but the most is livin' small:
They just can't even find no food at all.
And I'm guessing that the FTC-recommended budget would also leave Katie measurably better off than many if not most of his most faithful fans and followers -- particularly those who spent their life savings to advance in GIN, hoping that someday they could be rich and successful like their fearless leader.
As you'll see if you read the August 30 court doc, the FTC doesn't object to Trudeau having an allowance for personal expenses, but they think he should earn it through "future legitimate employment" instead of just sitting on his butt getting it from the receivership estate. This is from the FTC's motion:
As noted above, the FTC does not object to the Receiver allowing Trudeau money for 'ordinary and necessary' living expenses from salary he earns through future legitimate employment (much as a debtor can retain portions of his income in other contexts). Put differently, if Trudeau adds to the receivership estate through his employment, he can enjoy the portion of that addition necessary to pay his personal expenses. However, if Trudeau chooses not to contribute to the estate, then—exactly like people who elect not work in other situations—he will have to rely on friends and family to support him. But he cannot simply sit idle and receive a monthly dole from a fund that isn’t his.
As indicated in the budget that the receiver prepared for Trudeau (one of the exhibits in Document 744-1)), the FTC believes that Trudeau's "ordinary and necessary" monthly expenses should only be $4,676. Why, that wouldn't even pay for his customary monthly cigar bill, much less his personal chef, and the rent on that big McCastle. And if that weren't insulting enough, the FTC thinks he should either work at a legitimate job for the money, or else get help from family and friends, instead of having it handed to him from the receivership assets (which include but are notlimited to GIN).
The FTC also thinks Katie's allowance should be the lesser of the "ordinary and necessary living expenses" and what he earns "legitimately." Beyond that, if he wants to continue living the really good life, he needs to get a little help from his friends. Now would be a really good time for some of those GIN Council brethren to step forward. Either that, or Katie is going to have to learn to smoke Swisher Sweets and start shopping at Walmart.
A Facebook friend of mine noted that Kevin probably has lots of rich pals who will gladly subsidize his ritzy lifestyle in exchange for being his bestie. "Look at OJ and MJ... they didn't really suffer that much, because they had a strong following," my friend wrote. "I think Kevin planned it all out in case the sh-t hit the fan, which it did. He'll be fine. Unfortunately GIN members will continue to fail."
Good points. And yet, Kevin's folks had to put their home up just to raise his bond so he could go to Canada back in July. You'd think that some of his affluent besties would have stepped forward then to keep him from having to turn to his sweet middle-class folks. Because no matter what the story is behind that bond, you gotta admit that it looks pretty bad for a successful billionaire to have his aging parents risk their home of more than 60 years so their son can go catch some fishies in Canada, or whatever the heck he was doing there.
At any rate, in case you're not already convinced, the latest docs are further evidence that the FTC and the receiver really are calling the shots -- at least for now. That is something that even the hysterical "GIN-is-doomed" sensationalists got right, though they've generally over-stated, over-simplified, or otherwise distorted the matter.
This does not necessarily mean GIN will go away. I think that there still is a real possibility that may happen, but the receivership agreement filed on August 7, 2013 also says the receiver has an obligation to keep Trudeau's business entities in operation as long as they are legal and -- this is important -- profitable (see Item 12 on page 11). What it does mean is that the FTC and receiver are going to do everything possible to squeeze every bit of money from Trudeau and his business entities -- including GIN. So far it appears that Kevin is NOT getting his way in this matter, no matter what he may be telling his followers, or what they may be telling each other. If you're still in GIN, keep that in mind and plan accordingly. Accept that GIN is not going to make you rich and that at some point you may simply need to cut your losses.
* * * * *
I also checked on the criminal case (Case # 1:10-cr-00886, United States of America v. Kevin Trudeau, the Honorable Ronald Guzman presiding), and there is little new information that is publicly available. No doubt both sides are busily preparing for the trial, which as far as I know is still scheduled to begin on November 4, 2013. According to the docket, the pre-trial conference is set to October 15, 2013 at 10:30 AM, and pre-trial motions are due by Friday, September 6. That is the case for which there is a possibility of a life prison sentence, but I seriously doubt that will come to pass -- and frankly, as much as I dislike KT and his scams, I don't think that would be justice. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if some more paper shuffling resulted in the trial being canceled or at least continued. You just never know what will happen.
During a discussion about these matters on one of the Facebook forums, someone asked why there was even a possibility that Kevin would not get a life sentence. A better question might be: Why is there a possibility, however remote, that he willbe thrown in prison for life? Frankly, I am still not clear on that myself. Kevin Trudeau is without doubt a lifelong scammer (and GIN is without a doubt a scam, in my opinion), and in a perfect world he would be forbidden from scamming for the rest of his life. Even so, it still boggles my mind that he could be caged for life, when scam gurus such as James Arthur Ray served less than two years for cooking three people to death in his phony sweat lodge in Sedona, Arizona in 2009. (Moreover, caging scammers doesn't stop them from scamming; as reported here and elsewhere last year, James Ray was pushing Your Wish Is Your Command while he was still in prison!)
And let's not even get into the vile acts of some of KT's former compadres, who may not have been charged with anything formally, but around whom some pretty nasty allegations continually swirl (Loony Coldwell, anyone)?
That said, I realize that the FTC has laid its case out very carefully and methodically, and what I think, or what Trudeau's fans think, really doesn't matter at the end of the day. Although KT's fans don't agree with the whole premise of the case, the FTC has been pretty thorough. And, as noted on this Whirled before, the government actually used a specific formula to determine the potential punishment in the criminal case, should KT be found guilty by a jury of his peers. Originally the government recommended a range of 188-225 months in prison -- or between 15.66666666 and 18.75 years Document number 51, filed 04/12/13). Here are links to JPEGs of the individual pages of this document, which explains the government's reasoning:
Page 1: http://tinyurl.com/kaga78h
Page 2: http://tinyurl.com/ldpgfcz
Page 3: http://tinyurl.com/lxt6p7w
Page 4: http://tinyurl.com/mzrulek
Page 5: http://tinyurl.com/n8449ua
Page 6: http://tinyurl.com/m4sr7ma
At some point after that April 2013 filing, Judge Guzman ruled that the Court could impose a maximum sentence of life. To tell the truth, I have still not read the actual ruling, which presumably contains an explanation for this increase. Maybe I just overlooked it in all of my PACER retrievals and document perusals. But I know that there are some transcripts that, although entered on the docket, are not yet viewable through PACER.
However, the potential life sentence has been mentioned several times, including in this document from the civil case (see page 2, paragraph 2). So it still could happen, although as I have said, I don't think it will.
By the way, unless documents have been filed in the past few days but just not uploaded to PACER yet, it appears that the most recent Kevin Trudeau bankruptcy case, filed on April 22 of this year, is really dead. Although it was terminated on June 3, 2013 due to failure to file documents, the docket listed August 30, 2013 as the deadline for objecting to the discharge. August 30 has come and gone, and no new docket entries have been made since July 3 (that was trustee Phillip D. Levey's request to be discharged from any further duties as trustee.)
It seems clear to me that the government has Trudeau firmly in their grip for now, and I have no doubt that individual investigators and attorneys who have been on this case for years and years -- long before GIN existed -- will do everything in their power to secure the maximum punishment for KT's life of fraud and scams. But ultimately, I suppose, it will be up to the jury (and the judge, to a certain extent). Also keep in mind that Trudeau still has a lot of fans and supporters. Some of them think he can do no wrong, and some aren't convinced of his infallibility, but all will still choose him over the government any day. And if he does still have friends in Scamworld, presumably they might be able to raise some money for him too, through entities that are beyond the scope of the FTC, the receivership, and the courts.
So don't count Kevin Trudeau out of the game yet.
Scamworld and the larger problem
Another Facebook friend, Julie Daniel, re-posted a link to the now-classic May 2012 Verge video on Scamworld, featuring my blogging colleague Salty Droid as one of the fighters against the scams and scammers. The accompanying Verge online article by Joseph Flaley is very good too, and really drives the point home.
Some of the comments on Salty Droid's recent post re Chump U are pretty eye-opening as well. A person using the name InTheKnow is sharing some great insight into how leads are bought and sold and bought and sold repeatedly in Scamworld among the pros. We all know this goes on but this person seems to have experience in the boiler rooms, and goes into some detail about how leads are rated in order to determine how much they are worth.
(It occurred to me that Trudeau made one of his big mistakes by trying to pull kind of the same thing on a smaller scale with amateurs, i.e. GIN members, who for the most part were not used to dealing with this stuff on any scale, and for whom just a very few solid leads could have made a significant difference in their GIN business. People paid good money for questionable or bad leads, and matters were made worse by the fact that in many cases people paid for leads that were never even delivered.)
Another person using the name K. Chang is sharing insights on the Trump post and other recent Salty posts about the investigations of various scammers/scams and the revolving door/corruption of some of the regulatory agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
And my pal Tom Banjo, who probably knows more than he cares to know about Donald Trump's real estate and other operations, has some excellent comments as well. I urge you to read the post and the comments. Here's that link again.
It is all rather depressing and once again provides perspective on the enormity of the problem. And of course it lends more validity to my favorite mantra re GIN: No neat and tidy endings.
But that doesn't mean we should ever, ever give up in the efforts to educate ourselves and others about these scams, and do what we can to fight them. We may not be able to stop the Scamworld train, but we might be able to prevent some people from hopping on board for a journey to nowhere fast.
PS ~ Speaking of Loony Coldwell, Bernie has done it again on this hilarious -- and insightful -- GINtruth.com post about Loony's hubris.
* Re "Times is tough": in case you are wondering, that was a deliberate grammatical error.
More True-dough on this Whirled:
August 2013: Man made famous by Kevin Trudeau tells you how to cure aging, death, tumors, herpes, and ugliness
August 2013: Kevin Trudeau smacked around again by ABC, while Loony Lenny & Captain Winky sell speed
August 2013: Kevin Trudeau: things heat up as criminal trial approaches
July 2013: No cage for Katie (sorry, Lenny)
July 2013: Leonard Coldwell and Kevin Trudeau: love and marriage and pots and kettles
July 2013: Kevin Trudeau asks court to let him go to Zurich, FTC sez no, judge sez no too
July 2013: Kevin Trudeau: The FTC is really, really mad now...sort of
July 2013: Kevin Trudeau: Gone fishing? Or something...
July 2013: Kevin Trudeau: Rumors, lies, and SNAG support
June 2013: The Health Ranger: another phony hero in the fight against Scamworld?
June 2013: Kevin Trudeau in court again: Something big... something really big!... or maybe not
June 2013: Kevin Trudeau and justice: muddy waters
May 2013: ABC has fun with Kevin Trudeau, and life goes on
May 2013: ABC tackles Kevin Trudeau -- again!
May 2013: Kevie goes a-courtin': pleading the Fifth
May 2013: Kevin Trudeau: Justice...or just more paper shuffling?
May 2013: Kevin Trudeau: Countdown to court date (or not)
May 2013: Kevin Trudeau + Mark Hamilton = GIN with a twist of Neo-stink
April 2013: Bankruptcy: GIN members await Level 7 while Kevin Trudeau files Chapter 7
March 2013: Ryan Kath at KSHB-TV does Trudeau/GIN update, Coldwell & Wink continue to scam with cheap imitation of GIN
February 2013: Kevin Trudeau's GIN: The sky is falling (again)...yawn
February 2013: Loony Coldwell: Cheesy video and bad spelling
February 2013: IBMS Master's Society Supreme Loony Coldwell strikes again
February 2013: Faux heroes and hypocrisy in action
February 2013: Meet the new scam, same as the old scam, Part 2
January 2013: Vital signs: "Immortal" (former) breatharian Mony Vital dies on GIN cruise
January 2013: Meet the new scam, same as the old scam, Part 1
December 2012: 2012 ~ The Whirled goes on
November 2012: Kevin Trudeau: justice delayed...again
November 2012: Kevin Trudeau exposé on KSHB-TV: buzz, backlash, and big beginnings
November 2012: Alien nation: just how crazy is Kevin Trudeau (not to mention his sheeple)?
November 2012: Kevin Trudeau: KSHB-TV undercover investigation
November 2012: Kevin Trudeau gets some more mainstream lovin'
October 2012: Evil has not won
October 2012: Kevin Trudeau: Rats in our heads, GIN down the toilet...and life goes on
October 2012: Kevin Trudeau: The shape of things to come?
September 2012: Leonard Coldwell and Fred Van Liew: Pot, meet kettle
August 2012: Truth is better than GIN any day
July 2012: Drunk on GIN, and you can too!
July 2012: Kevin Trudeau's GIN: part of the big sick machine
July 2012: Independence Daze
May 2012 (updated September 2012): Paging Dr. C: Bernd bridges in Deutschland?
May 2012: Can alien DNA save Kevin Trudeau's GIN?
May 2012: Does a canary with a GIN hangover sing as sweetly?
April 2012: Viva Lost Wages: Sin City Become GIN City for a weekend
February 2012: A. Rose by any other name would shill as sweet
December 2011: True-dough updates: Bad poetry for KT, hate mail for CC
November 2011: A jumpsuit for Jimmy
August 2011: First Amendment Stuporhero
August 2011: Everything old is Nouveau again (or, Neo-scam by any other name) -- Part 2 of 2
August 2011: Calling all lazy men: let's build a pyramid together!
August 2011: Everything old is Nouveau again (or, Neo-scam by any other name), Part 1 of 2
June 2011: Holy Guacamole! True-dough's racist rants
June 2011: For he's a jolly good felon: True-dough speaks out for Death Ray
December 2009 (amended several times in 2010): Illuminutty: the secret brotherhood of the chronically gullible
November 2009: How to take over the world
July 2009: Horse farts and related matters
January 2009: Mr. Fire meets up with true dough