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):
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:
Well, I tried to listen to the phone thing, but the lack of charisma of the interlocutors made me switch off after a minute.
ReplyDeleteI 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.
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
ReplyDeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteI 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.
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.
ReplyDeleteI 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.
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.
ReplyDeleteAs 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.