A federal judge in Chicago today found author-infomercial king Kevin Trudeau in criminal contempt of court.
Trudeau, who for years has claimed to offer miracle health cures, was ordered to post a $50,000 bail and give up his passport.
And U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman told him to expect to spend some time in custody in the future for urging his customers to flood the judge with e-mails.
After being called on the carpet by the judge today, Trudeau sent a follow-up e-mail to his listeners and supporters telling them he’d erred in telling them to write to the judge about his pending civil case.
“I don’t have confidence in your client,” Gettleman told Trudeau’s lawyer. “I do insist that, if he is to avoid custody today, he post bond.”
Gettleman, whos overseeing a civil case involving Trudeau, was clearly unhappy at Trudeaus latest antics urging his followers via his Web site to flood the judge with e-mails. They listened.
Gettleman said Trudeaus actions violated a previous order in the case to not communicate with the judge.
The judge said some of the e-mails were “harassing, threatening and interfering.”
“This is direct contempt that’s how I view it,” Gettleman said. “He interfered with the direct process of the court.”
Gettleman said he initially wanted to take Trudeau into custody this afternoon, but decided he didn’t want to act “hastily.”
“I do believe a future penalty will include some custody and a fine,” Gettleman said.
At that, Trudeau briefly looked down. He did not speak in court.
The Federal Trade Commission has labeled Trudeau a fraud and got a court order in 2004 to curtail his business.
Trudeau has sold millions of books, in part with the pitch that the government is trying to keep him from telling dieters the truth with his The Weight-Loss Cure They Dont Want You to Know About, which has become a best-seller.
Gettleman previously has fined Trudeau more than $5 million, then raised that fine to more than $37 million the amount the FTC figured Trudeau made on the book via his infomercials.
Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services