Friday, March 08, 2013

Ryan Kath at KSHB-TV does Trudeau/GIN update, Coldwell & Wink continue to scam with cheap imitation of GIN



By now you may have seen that award-winning investigative journalist
Ryan Kath at KSHB-TV (the Kansas City, Missouri NBC affiliate) has done an update on serial scammer Kevin Trudeau and Trudeau's scammy, Ponzi-like Global Information Network (GIN). Here is the link. Or click on the picture above. I am not embedding the video in this post, but you can watch the video and read the accompanying news story by clicking the links I have provided.

The big development is that Illinois federal judge Robert Gettleman has ordered Trudeau to appear at an evidentiary hearing on May 21. That means an in-person appearance. Trudeau supposedly has to drag his own physical self into that court room and appear before the judge. Here is the document (click on pic to enlarge):


That's just one of numerous recent court documents related to this case. The notorious Not-Doctor Lenny Coldwell was sharing all of them on his site for a while, but has recently quit doing that, and I'm thinking it's because he wants to make it appear that he has exclusive access to information that the rest of us can't easily get. As in, I know something you don't know. Neener, neener, neener. But, as I've mentioned here before, just about anyone in the United States can access these docs by signing up with the Pacer.gov case search site. Once registered, search for Case NO. 1:03-cv-03904: FTC v. Trudeau, et al., Robert W. Gettleman presiding. You do have to pay a nominal per-page fee for the documents.

Ryan Kath deserves credit and admiration for being one of the few TV journalists who has given Trudeau any attention at all in recent years, and certainly the first TV journo that I know of to tackle GIN. There's been plenty of online criticism of GIN, which seemed like a so-obvious-as-to-be-ludicrous scam to many of us -- I've been blogging about it since late 2009 myself -- but there have precious few mentions on TV. (Psst! National news shows, where in blazes are y'all?)

Actually, I know where they probably are. The investigative journalists who really care about people getting scammed are having to fight the powers-that-be who are all too cognizant of the ad revenues from Scamworld. They don't want to piss off their infomercial kings and queens too much.

Ryan aired his first investigative piece on
November 12, 2012. The person who started that ball rolling is Kansas City resident and ex-GIN member Abe Husein. Abe says he spent about $30,000 in GIN and didn't get the results he expected. Eventually it dawned on him that -- duh -- Kevin Trudeau is a scammer and GIN is a scam. Alas, although Abe and some of his greatest supporters (perhaps "groomers" would be a better word) -- particularly Lenny Coldwell -- predicted that this one investigative news story would mark the absolute end of GIN, that didn't happen. But it was a good story anyway, as even Salty Droid acknowledged in this December post.

Ryan's update aired on the evening of March 7, the very same date that Lenny Coldwell and his brother-in-harms, Peter Wink, hosted yet another teleconference to rally the troops against tyranny (using their own definition of tyranny), to share their wacko conspiracy-nut stuff, and, of course, to pitch their latest scam venture, the IBMS Master's Society. Here's one of several Facebook promos for this momentous phone call (as usual, click to enlarge):


A few of my friends listened in, and one wrote, "Amy [Chappell] couldn't even get through her intro without stumbling over all the absurd lies she was forced to read." Another said, "I only lasted ten minutes, my bullsh-t meter started smoking and I had to go out and get some fresh air." Someone else wrote, "Peter Wink is not really one to rally the troops, and he is using his PC mic or his home VOIP phone because the quality is awful." (See PS.)

But I suppose it doesn't matter, because Peter and Lenny, according to Peter and Lenny, are so popular it's scary!
And the more negative press they get, the more popular they get. According to Peter and Lenny.

Amusingly, Lenny Coldwell is still crowing about his former b.f.f.'s impending downfall, despite the fact that he and Peter are trying to pull the same kind of scam as GIN, but on a slightly smaller scale. Omri Shabat on the Glancing Web blog
said it quite concisely:
The GIN is dead, long live the IBMS!... the scam is the scam, the victims are the victims and the Trudeau is the Coldwell.
Yeah, that's pretty much my thinking, as noted at great length on my "Meet the new scam, same as the old scam" mini-series: here and here.

And
here's Bernie on GINtruth with yet another riff on IBMS. Bernie has accepted the little Teutonic twerp's "$100,000 challenge" to produce evidence that other people and organizations are getting even remotely the same "results" that the IBMS Master's Society scam is getting. Lenny bases his ludicrous claims about results on the dubious "testimonials" that appear on the IBMS Master's Society scam Web page -- many of which were written in response to various live Lenny events, and one of which even praised Kevin Trudeau.

So these "testimonials" were emphatically not all about the new IBMS Master's Society scam, and to define these giddy and in some cases semi-literate strokes to Lenny and Peter's egos as "results" is
either disingenuous or daft, or both. Here are just some of these stupendous "results":


But perhaps I digress. I really do hope Ryan Kath continues to stay on the GIN story, and I believe he will. But frankly, I'm not holding my breath waiting for the end of GIN and Kevin Trudeau's scamming days. A lot can happen between now and May 21. And even if GIN and Trudeau go down for good, the big sick machine of Scamworld will roll on and on and on.


PS ~ For sheer Lenny looniness, here's a link to the playback of the March 7 conference call. That's 72 minutes and 37 seconds you'll never get back. But time spent laughing until you pee yourself can be, I suppose, therapeutic.


More True-dough (and Lenny) on this Whirled:


  • March 2013: Coldwell and Wink target vulnerable women with IBMS Master's Society "coaching"
  • 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: 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

  • * * * * *
    Now more than ever, your donation is needed
    to help keep this Whirled spinning.
    Click here to donate via PayPal or debit/credit card.
    If that link doesn't work, send PayPal payment directly to

    scrivener66@hotmail.com
    or to
    cosmic.connie@juno.com
    If PayPal, be sure to specify that your contribution is a gift. Thank you!

    5 comments:

    HHH said...

    Well, I tried to listen to the phone thing, but the lack of charisma of the interlocutors made me switch off after a minute.
    I liked the bit about Obama being black and gay, though. The UK media has been remiss in reporting on Obama's homosexuality, no one ever mentions it here. No doubt it's a much discussed topic in the US, especially in Texas.

    Cosmic Connie said...

    Amen about the lack of charisma, HHH. As it happens, Obama's sexual orientation is not really a hot topic of discussion in the US. However, Lenny himself seems to be obsessed with who is homosexual and who is not. He also reportedly likes to poke gratuitous fun at gays, as several people who have attended his live events have reported to me. All of this has led inevitably to questions about Lenny's own orientation. A new documentary film, which I have not yet viewed due to a basic lack of interest, may answer some of these questions but will almost certainly raise more. http://tinyurl.com/aqmfu3t

    RevRon's Rants said...

    I can't help but chuckle at the "brave warriors" who claim to be fighting for our liberty and even our lives, yet run, terrified, from any challenges to their BS.

    I had Abe figured out pretty early on. He's a would-be scammer who's obsessed with getting revenge on True-dough for out-scamming him. As to Twink, well, I'm reassured that you've seen through him. It's just really a stretch to see him as anything but a serial pimp who has promoted - and ultimately bad-mouthed - one scammer after another. Wonder how long it will take before not-doctor Coldwell becomes the next target of Twinkian disdain.

    Unfortunately, there are self-proclaimed truth warriors on the "other side" of the scam wars, as well, who block anyone who challenge them at all. While there are folks like you and Salty who seem genuinely motivated toward stopping the scammers, the obvious dick wars in which some of the players on both sides engage are more reminiscent of adolescent playground taunting matches than anything else. One can only read so many "neener-neener" exchanges before growing weary of it all.

    Cosmic Connie said...

    Yeah, Ron, I get tired of the "dick wars" too. I think that all of us who are critical of the scams and scammers need to stick together, though of course nobody is going to agree 100% of the time. But I guess the neener-neener stuff comes with the territory, unfortunately.

    I too wonder how long it will be before Peter parts company with Lenny. Since I imagine he is pretty well aware of the fact that his critics have been asking that very same question, he may, out of stubborn pride, cling tenaciously to the b.f.f. act long after he has started to have serious doubts about the wisdom of this alliance. We'll just have to wait and see -- and meanwhile, of course, continue to buy more popcorn.

    RevRon's Rants said...

    While I agree with the concept of supporting each other in a cause, it should be noted that Abe's rationalization for supporting Lenny is the old, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." And it will be made clear soon enough how well THAT worked out for him. we should do better, IMO... unless perpetuating a dick war is the objective, that is.

    As to Twink's ultimate "realization," I think we both know that it will be about his own profit, rather than the emergence of anything resembling common sense or his discovery of a moral compass that has obviously been non-functional for some time.