Kevin Trudeau freed from jail! (sort of)

Ha. Made you look, didn't I?

Another hearing was held today, March 19, regarding serial scammer Kevin Trudeau's civil case. And indeed, Judge Gettleman signed an order suspending Katie's coercive incarceration on the civil matter.

Obviously the court decided they aren't going to shake any money or info out of him, though they've been trying for months and months. That whole "coercive incarceration" thing has yielded little more than huge receiver bills and a series of schlocky Facebook posts from Katie's long-time associate, former co-defendant, and ex-squeeze, Janine Nubani Contursi (who reportedly admitted in open court today that she is the one writing those stupid posts, although I've yet to confirm that from a credible source).

So Judge Gettleman suspended the civil incarceration.

But don't be too quick to either celebrate or become outraged. The only reason His Honor suspended this cage gig is so Trudeau can begin serving his ten-year criminal sentence, which was imposed this past Monday, March 17. Here's a closeup (click to enlarge):


So for Katie, it's out one cage and in the other. Moreover, as soon as he is released from prison on the criminal case -- whenever that may be -- he has to report to Judge Gettleman's court (or whoever is there in the judge's place) so the court can determine if he needs to be thrown back in jail for the CIVIL case. While he is serving his criminal sentence he doesn't have to appear in court for future hearings.

The next status hearing regarding the receivership and other matters is scheduled for June 27, 2014 at 10:00 AM.

Some of the GIN destroyers who so deeply long for that neat and tidy movie-script ending are crowing that GIN is finally, finally, finally dead. Well... not so fast.
I wasn't in court today so, obviously, I don't know what was said there, but so far nothing has been posted on PACER that contradicts the information in the receiver's March 17report, which says that they plan to sell the GIN intellectual property and that there are several interested buyers. The court has to approve, of course.

After that the buyers, presumably, can do what they want with it. They can continue to call it GIN or they can re-name and completely re-brand, and even create new content based on the content for which they have bought the rights. For many folks, though, the dream won't die, and there are other similar "clubs" and "master's societies" that are a ripoff of GIN. Some of them are run by characters as shady as Katie, or worse.

Speaking of which, Ohio's Perry Kiraly -- former high-level GIN member, former Intervenor in Katie's civil case, and now founding honcho (along with Scientologist Yon Cole) of a new GIN ripoff called World Information Network (WIN) -- sent out another update on the evening of Trudeau's sentencing. Not one word did he say about his former fearless leader being sentenced to a decade in lockup. But he did reiterate his great flopportunity, discussed previously here.

From: Perry Kiraly
Date: March 17, 2014 at 9:39:04 PM EDT
To: undisclosed-recipients

Subject: WIN Update - Announcements 03-17-14

WIN Update: Perry Kiraly

March 17, 2014

Dear WIN Members & Supporters,
WIN has two new extraordinary announcements.

First, the opportunity to purchase the FIVE YEAR THREE PERCENT OF MEMBERSHIP GROSS SALES UNITS is being extended until the end of this month.

Second, in recognition of the extraordinary commitment by those former GIN members known as Inner Circle, WIN intends to initiate an exclusive gross membership sales offering after WIN’s official site launch on or about May 1st 2014 for former Inner Circle Members who have participated in this offering.

This opportunity for the purchase of units and participation in the exclusive Inner Circle offer will be made available for 14 more days until March 31st 2014. All payments must be received or in route and verified via tracking number by March 31st 2014. The computation for payment on this offer will begin on April 1st 2014.

200 "Units" total were made available for purchase at $2,000.00 per unit through a Private Placement Memorandum on March 9th 2014. Units are still available for purchase but purchase requests come in daily and once the 200 total is reached no further units can legally be sold from this offer.

Each "unit" will pay the purchaser of that unit or units a share of 3% of the gross sales of the World Information Network Foundation LTD (WIN) for the next five years. This five-year period will be extended, if necessary, until a minimum total of 500% or $10,000.00 is paid back on each $2,000.00 unit purchased. During the initial five year period this percentage could exceed 500% depending on the growth of the club. A more detailed grid of the payout based on membership growth is in the Private Placement Memorandum (PPM) that will be sent to you upon request.

Be sure and email WIN before March 31st 2014 at [email redacted] to receive the Private Placement Memorandum necessary to purchase units or call [phone number redacted] for further details or questions. WIN’s attorney is also available for any questions regarding this offer.
WIN is just getting started. It is the vehicle that will take our club into the future. It is the vehicle backed and driven by the best this club has known up to this point.

Be, Do, & Have is the process we were trained in and that process has begun. WIN now is. It exists, and you and I and all of its supporters know what we intend this club to Be.

We are now at the Do stage and funding is an integral part of that doing. It is the accelerating catalyst that will move us toward our goal quickly. Our goal - the continuation of creating a club dedicated to providing the tools, training, events and gatherings that will enable all that make use of them, the ability to dream again, create whatever life they choose, and recognize what truly powerful Beings they are.

Come to present time and take advantage of this opportunity to play your part as a Founding Member in the ongoing creation of the highest ideals upon which our club began and the ultimate creation of the best club on the planet.
Then we will Have - and not just us but all of those that join our club in the future and utilize what we’ve initiated here, to change their lives and change the world.

Thank you,
Perry Kiraly

So, GIN or no GIN, Scamworld will go on. Those of you who need to join a club and throw large amounts of money down a hole in order to feel special can take your pick of several flopportunities.

And meanwhile, Katie sleeps peacefully in a cell somewhere, content to trust in "Devine Timing" (could this have something to do with his long-time buddy from the Hybrid Group?)... while Janine natters on and on and on, and Nelson Mandela rolls over in his grave.

PS ~ It appears that some of the mainstream journos are finally starting to see the comedy gold in Janine-as-Katie's silly Facebook posts, which I've been throwing potshots at since November. Here's NBC5 Chicago's Phil Rogers, for instance.
And here's my first post about the silliness (19 November 2013), including (later on, in the comments section) some lyrics that seem more appropriate now than ever. And here, just in time for last year's Xmas holidays, is a tale of a seasonal miracle.

Kevin Trudeau: Government gets its wish, Katie sentenced to ten in the pen

Deets later, but for now, here's the Chicago NBC story:
http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/tv-pitchman-kevin-trudeau-sentencing-250594051.html

Yep, despite his pleas for mercy and some last-minute histrionics, as noted on this Whirled the other day -- and despite his numerous Facebook postings about the miraculous changes he'd undergone since being caged (here's just one of many, many examples), on March 17, Kevin Trudeau was sentenced by Judge Ronald Guzman to ten years in Federal prison.

Good thing I am not a betting woman, because this sentence did take me a little bit by surprise. But not a whole lot by surprise, considering that the court has been granting the government pretty much everything they'd requested so far, and their latest request had been for a ten-year minimum sentence.
 
Also not surprising was that former GIN member Abe Husein, the self-proclaimed GIN destroyer, was all over this, as was his mentor (or Dementor) Loony Coldwell, with the rumor that the FBI is going to send other speakers to prison as well. If that is true, I have a great suggestion about where they could start. Just saying.

 


As for the scuttlebutt about grizzled old former Congressman Ed Foreman, a long time friend, supporter and enabler of Trudeau, early buzz was that he was forcibly restrained by Federal marshals and then escorted out of the courtroom because he lunged at the judge. He was reportedly arrested. But that's not even remotely the same as being sent to prison for being part of the fraud, as reported in the screen shot above.

This Chicago ABC story has a vid that mentions the disruption by Foreman and says he will probably be issued a citation and have to pay a $150 fine.

UPDATE later on: This Chicago Sun-Times piece notes that it was a $175 ticket.

The courtroom was packed with Trudeau’s supporters. During arguments, one of them, a former congressman from Texas, tried to address the judge. The judge told him to sit down, and he did, but later on he spoke out again and was carried out by federal marshals. Ed Foreman, 80, of Dallas, got a $175 ticket, according to Randall Samborn, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office.

In a piece for the Chicago Tribune, reporter Jason Meisner, who has been providing excellent coverage of the courtroom proceedings, wrote:

... As Guzman was questioning one of Trudeau’s attorneys, an elderly supporter suddenly stood in the front row of the audience and bellowed, “Judge, I am a former U.S. congressman!” before being ordered to sit down.
After another outburst a few minutes later, the man, later identified as Ed Foreman, 80, of Dallas, was ordered to leave the courtroom. He refused, and when security officers tried to stand Foreman up, he went limp and was eventually carried out as other spectators shouted in protest.
“You are not entitled to disrupt the proceedings,” Guzman told the remaining audience members, some of whom sobbed loudly. “I urge you to simply keep quiet and listen.”
Foreman, a former Congressman who represented districts in Texas and New Mexico four decades ago, was ticketed for creating a disturbance, a petty offense payable by a $150 fine and court fees, officials said. According to his website, he is a motivational speaker who has previously touted Trudeau’s Global Information Network, touted as an international club that charges membership fees in exchange for success “secrets.”

I'll let the mainstream journos fight it out over whether Ed is going to have to pay $150 or $175. But in any case, some of us have been snarking about ol' Ed for a while. It's good to see the journos catching up to the bloggers.

Again, though, I can easily think of other GIN speakers and former speakers who are much more deserving of being thrown in jail -- or thrown out of the U.S. for good.

Just saying. [Update added March 20: Here's Ed, saying he has no regrets.]

And now for old times sake, here's ol' Ed and Katie cutting a rug at the birthday party of Kevin's now estranged wife Natalie Babenko at a Global Information Network "Family Reunion" in the Bahamas a few years ago. Oh, those crazy young people. Here's the album from which the pics were taken.*




Meanwhile, in the civil case...
The next court hearing for Katie is in Judge Robert Gettleman's civil court on Wednesday, March 19. There the court-appointed receiver will present their latest bill, and the FTC will continue to argue that Katie is a liar who belongs in jail. (Here is a link to two documents filed on March 14: the receiver's summary of the expensive things they have been doing for the past couple of months; and the FTC's latest Kevin-is-a-liar summation.) I am not including all of the exhibits because they would make the file 28 MB.

At this point, of course, the FTC is preaching to the choir. It remains to be seen whether Judge Gettleman will end Katie's civil contempt jailhouse stay so he can start serving the criminal sentence. The fate of GIN may or may not be decided on that day too. This is from the Receiver's Third Report, filed today (March 17):

Operations of the Global Information Network (GIN)
The Receiver, working with company management in Westmont, Ill, has continued to operate GIN profitably and lawfully.

On March 17, 2014 the Receiver will announce that it is now prepared to consider letters of intent from potential purchasers of GIN’s assets which include the membership list and any intellectual property that may exist. The Receiver’s announcement will state that any letters of intent must be submitted by March 28, 2014. Thereafter, the Receiver will negotiate a purchase agreement with the prospective buyer and will submit any such agreement to this Court for its consideration.

Here is a link to the Receiver's Third Report. Among other things you will learn that one of the Katie entities, Trustar Productions Inc., invested in a failed movie project called Hellbenders. As my friend Tim noted in a Facebook conversation, "even kt gets ripped off by kt ventures." Well, yeah. It just goes to show what an expert ripoff artist Katie is.

What I think about the ten-year sentence
If you've been following this blog for the past year or so you won't be surprised to know that I am ambivalent about the sentence. Trudeau is without question a serial scammer and has been scamming most of his life. And of course I have been writing about this for years. I understand the criminal and civil judges' reasoning, the prosecutors' reasoning, the FTC's reasoning. I've read most of the relevant court documents in both the civil and criminal cases. The FTC and the prosecutors laid out a strong case. And I'm sure their case will be made even clearer to those of us on the sidelines when the Pre-Sentence Investigation (PSI) reports are unsealed.

I also understand why those who have lost money, time, and energy to Trudeau's scams feel that this is a victory. I understand why most (though not all) of my fellow critical bloggers and supporters feel it's a victory too. Most of them think I'm pretty off-base for feeling that ten years in the clink, even for Katie, is excessive.

But I have always felt -- and have stated numerous times on this blog -- that putting a nonviolent scammer in a cage for years and years isn't right. I wish there were some way our justice system could legally, non-violently and effectively protect the public from Katie without caging him.

And when I think of how killers such as James Arthur Ray served less than two years for killing three people in his phony sweat lodge... well, something seems off kilter. Or when I consider some of the loathsome scammers and alleged predators whom Trudeau unleashed on the world, who have yet to even be charged of anything, say nothing of be tried, convicted, sentenced.... it makes me think our justice system is really broken.

I'm also uncomfortable about the fact that someone can be jailed indefinitely for contempt. That's a whole other issue and also points to problems in our justice system.

On the other hand, Trudeau is a serial scammer, deceptive to the core, as the judge put it. And as my guy Ron noted, "In my opinion, the only way to stop Trudeau from scamming was to put him in a cage to give the people he entrusted with hiding his money enough time to turn on him and leave him genuinely broke, as he left so many others. The criminal justice system is first and foremost there to protect society, and this is the only way to protect society from Trudeau."

So it may be a "victory," but it's one that leaves me wondering if justice is really being served. At the very least, Trudeau isn't the only one who should be donning an orange jumpsuit.

PS added 18 March ~ My pal Bernie at GINtruth weighs in on the sentence and other related matters.

Kevin Trudeau: Mad professor hippie Magoo begs judge for mercy

As currently-jailed serial scammer Kevin Trudeau's sentencing for his criminal contempt conviction approaches (it is scheduled for this Saint Patty's Day at 2:00 PM), there's been a lot of busy-ness in the courts. As reported here a couple of days ago, the government filed a sentencing memorandum on March 10, recommending at least a ten-year stint in the cage for Katie. I linked to the memo and exhibits on that previous post, but for your convenience here it is again.

More documents were filed over the next couple of days. On March 11 Katie's lawyers filed a plea for leniency, and on March 12 Katie himself wrote a letter to the judge in the civil case, Robert Gettleman, asking him to puh-LEEZE intervene on Katie's behalf with the criminal-case judge, Ronald Guzman.

At the moment I'm having Scribd glitches with PDFs and MIME stuff so I can't upload the documents and give you a handy Scribd link. But you might be able to get to the docs from the Facebook thread on the GIN Network Truth group, where I shared them yesterday.

Here is that link.

UPDATE 18 MARCH 2014: Scribd glitches finally corrected.
Here is the Scribd link. 

Since both the March 11 criminal case document and the March 12 civil case doc are about Katie begging for mercy in preparation for the sentencing, I felt they belonged together, even though I usually upload the criminal docs separately from the civil docs. Accordingly, if you can get to the links provided, the first one you'll see is from the civil case; that's Katie's plea to Judge Gettleman for mercy. He makes mention of nearly 90 pleas to Judge Guzman on his behalf, including one from his rabbi. Oy, vey, such a nice Jewish boy he is, having to suffer so needlessly.

By the way, keep in mind that Judge Gettleman is actually the one who is currently holding Katie in the cage for the civil contempt case. The sentence Judge Guzman hands down will be for the criminal contempt case. (I know it's hard to keep up with all of this stuff. Did you know that the civil case has, in nearly eleven years, generated more than 15,000 pages of court docs? Whew.)

Anyway. Katie's melodramatic letter was filed along with one exhibit: a two-page order from Judge Gettleman dated April 16, 2010. Following that, you'll see the plea that Katie's lawyers made in the criminal case on March 11, asking for a max two-year sentence.

Naturally, Katie's ex-b.f.f. and alt-health spokesquack, Loony Coldwell, has taken a brief break from his recent rants and frivolous lawsuits to quote and gloat about Trudeau's letter, calling Trudeau a sociopathic con man who's scared crapless. True enough, Loony, but coming from a psychopathic con man like yourself, the message is amusing in ways you probably didn't intend it to be.

In the court documents there are references to the PSI -- pre-sentence investigation -- report. The original PSI report as well as a supplemental one are still sealed, so I can't read or share them at the moment.

As for Katie himself and that whole begging-for-mercy thing, it's deja screw all over again. I know I've linked to a 2005 Smoking Gun article numerous times here and on Facebook, but I am sharing it again in case you haven't seen it or would like to revisit it. If you follow the links you will see a couple of people begging for mercy, on Katie's behalf, back in the 1990s. Of note, a psychiatrist and Kevin's mommy wrote letters asking the court for leniency (there is some dispute over whether Mom wrote the letter herself or Kevin wrote it). Anyway, here's that link; it's to the home page, and you can follow the other links from there: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/.../would-you-buy-used-cure-man

Meanwhile back at the MCC, Katie preps for his next mercy plea. So far he's been spectacularly unsuccessful in getting mercy from Judge Gettleman, who has clearly lost patience with him after more than a decade of listening to his lies. So apparently now Katie is growing his hair out and continuing to wear his Coke bottle glasses that make his eyes look itty-bitty, despite the fact that, according to court docs filed late last month, Katie was granted permission to get his contacts as well as his personal glasses back (click to enlarge).


Anyway, on March 13, his proxy had this to say on Trudeau's Facebook page:

My sentencing date is Monday, March 17th. How long will I have to be in prison? 6 months? 6 years? 20 years? No one knows. But we all will find out soon! I know I will get out as soon as is perfect. The universe knows what is best for my highest good. (28 years was for Mandala and the country of So Africa's highest good!) Whatever it is it is. A piece of coal needs a certain amount of time and pressure before it transforms into a diamond. I need a certain amount of time and "pressure' for me to reach my spiritual goals and desires and for me to release all the abilities I want to release. The universe knows the answer. I am thankful for this experience and the growth I am achieving. I could have never achieved spiritually what I have if it were not for this experience, environment, and all that has happened. And I am doing things I always wanted to do…like let my hair grow! I have not cut my hair since I have been here! I look almost like a cross between a crazy professor and a hippie! And my grey hairs are pouring in! I also am not wearing contact lenses and letting my eyes rest after all those years of contact lenses use. My super thick "coke bottle" glasses make my eyes so small looking! I feel like Mr .Magoo!! I look so funny! We all have a great laugh with my crazy greying long hair and Mr Magoo glasses! Everyday is a great day for me as I am one day closer to being free, and I to continue my "lessons" and training exercises!. Be happy everyday...life is way too short! Much Love...KT

"Thankful for this experience and the growth I am achieving..." I guess maybe he means his hair growth? Maybe we'll find out on Monday. Or maybe his lawyers will talk him into cleaning himself up and making a dignified appearance. Perhaps he'll even be allowed to wear street clothes instead of his orange jammies. Anyhow, say what you will about him, mad hippie Professor Katie Magoo still has his fan base. So far nearly 700 people have "liked" the comment above, and there are more than 200 comments, many of them supportive (though more dissenters are showing up). Here's a permalink to the thread.

My guy Ron, quoting a news article about the upcoming trial, wrote this on Facebook:

In their pleas for mercy, Trudeau's lawyers say Trudeau “is a man who has consistently displayed kindness” and “generosity.”

Kind enough to go through his entire teen & adult life bilking people out of their money. Generous enough to foist Coldwell upon a trusting public. Give him 10 years and a very tight leash for life.

I don't necessarily agree with a ten-year sentence, but everything else Ron said in that comment is spot on.

The government sentencing memorandum I linked to above, and on my previous post, notes that Trudeau...

...preys upon the sick who want to be made healthy, the poor who want to become rich, and the insecure who want to feel better about themselves. He exploits consumers’ insecurities and weaknesses, promising them an easy fix for whatever hurts or embarrasses them.

True enough, Feds. But... duh... the same could be said of just about every Scamworld guru, including some of Trudeau's present and past cohorts who are still running free and filing frivolous lawsuits. This isn't to dismiss the egregiousness of Trudeau's offenses at all. I'm just making an observation.

As for Katie's sentence, I'm told that the smart money is still on two to five, but I'm not a betting woman, and I have given up trying to make predictions... except, of course, for my usual prediction that there will be no neat and tidy endings. 

PS added 16 March 2014: Katie gets proactive, apparently having been informed that some emails will be read in court that reveal the real Katie. This is from earlier today:

Kevin Trudeau news: Banjo David comes out of hiding, and government issues sentencing memo

Now, here's some good news. My friend Julie Daniel just noticed this today. The guy that many of us have known for a few years only as "Banjo David" has finally revealed his full name on now-jailed serial scammer Kevin Trudeau's public Facebook page. He is one David G. Bragman of Chicago, a recording engineer, bluegrass musician, radio host, and teacher of banjo, guitar, singing and sound recording. Go, David!

I had mentioned Banjo David on my blog a few years ago (see Addendum 19 July 2011); I linked to and quoted his 2010 post on The Straight Dope board. Over the past year or so, several of us on Facebook have linked to the same post.

Under the thread, "Did you spread your cheeks for Kevin Trudeau?" Banjo David wrote a "public apology," relating his experiences with Trudeau at motivational info-product purveyor Nightingale-Conant way back in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

On March 10, David copied and pasted his old comment on Trudeau's Facebook page. See the screen shot above (as usual, click to enlarge). Here is the direct link, which is good at this time, but you never know if and when it will be taken down:
https://www.facebook.com/TheKevinTrudeau/posts/636421049744287

And here again is the link to David's original (2010) comment on The Straight Dope.
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=554566

Although David's story hasn't varied between that 2010 comment and the one he posted two days ago -- except for the fact that he updated the number of years since he got "sh-t-canned" from Nightingale-Conant, -- you can see that some diehard Katie fans are claiming that he is just making it up, and they won't believe it till others come forth. Till others come forth?!? Um.... that train left the station long ago.

David, if you want to share your thoughts on this Whirled, feel free to do so. I've been writing about your old not-friend Katie for more than five years now. Or drop me an email at the address listed at the top of this page. Or just join the conversation on Facebook at GIN Network Truth.

I know that a lot of people will be interested in what you have to say.

And by the way, I love banjo music.


Meanwhile, in court... gummit asks for a min of ten
Here is a link to the latest document (plus exhibits) from Kevin Trudeau's criminal contempt case.

The actual pre-sentence investigation report is still sealed but this document, filed on March 10, 2014, is the government's Sentencing Memorandum. It recommends that Trudeau be sentenced to at least ten years in prison, based upon legal sentencing guidelines. Remember that it is still up to Judge Ronald Guzman to make this decision, however. Sentencing will be this coming Monday, March 17, at 2:00 PM.

The main document gives a good summary of Trudeau's misdeeds, but the exhibits -- particularly the emails from his former partner Donald Barrett -- are very revealing. I still think that if Katie is going to be caged, Barrett deserves it too, but then, so do many of Trudeau's other cohorts and former cohorts. But I guess that's not my call to make.

SciWINtology: Flopportunity knocks!

I really apologize for not tending to my blogging duties, Dear Ones. Some things have happened over the past week or so that really took the wind out of my sails. And no, it has nothing to do with alt-health/cancer quackadoodle Mocktor Loony Coldwell's profoundly stoopid lawsuit threats against me. Those were and are comic relief. No, what happened is something deeper and sadder and more personal, something that was unfolding while I was preoccupied with taking potshots at two-bit scammers. Sometimes, real life is what happens while you're blogging. Yet blog I must, and I will be blogging about this too... soon-ish, I think. I have blogged about personal things here before, so there's a precedent. I just need some time.

But for now, the Whirled must go on as it was originally created.

And there's a lot that's been happening regarding some of this blog's favorite snargets, most notably, currently jailed serial scammer Kevin Trudeau (former b.f.f. of the aforementioned Loony C), whose criminal sentencing is due to take place this coming Monday, March 17, 2014, at 2:00 PM in Judge Ronald Guzman's court. Katie wants you to be there; he wants a packed courtroom. His proxy put out a call for it on his Facebook page the other day:

I plan to be there in the front row.** See you there!

The other news is that former high level GIN member Perry Kiraly of Ohio, last visited on this blog post, is going ahead in earnest with his GINoff/flopportunity, WIN (World Information Network). Last week he sent this update:

From: Perry Kiraly
Sent: 3/2/2014 11:51:59 A.M. Eastern Standard Time
Subj: SWGF/WIN Update 03-01-14
SWGF/WIN Update: PERRY KIRALY
March 1, 2014

Dear SWGF Supporters,
The following is the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals decision regarding our motion for injunction to prevent the Receiver’s interference with and confiscation of GIN FDN’s Member dues and fees:

Northern District of Illinois - CM/ECF LIVE, Ver 6,1
Notice of Electronic Filing

The following transaction was entered on 2/27/2014 at 11:14 AM CST and filed on 2/25/2014

Case Name: FTC v. Trudeau, et al
Case Number: 1:03-cv-03904
Document Number: 827

Docket-Text:
COPY of order dated 2/25/14 from the 7th Circuit regarding notice of appeal [820]; Appellate case no. : 14-1344 IT IS ORDERED that the motion for Injunction Pending Appeal is DENIED. The appellants have not offered an adequate reason why the assets of the Global Information Network should not be sold. Any dispute about how much money the members of that organization are entitled to is not something that requires an injunction.

SWGF’s motion for injunction was filed on 02-19-14; it was denied on the 02-25-14, that denial was posted electronically on 02-27-14.

So what does this mean? It means that the Receiver will remain in complete control of GIN FDN and likely make off with the six-million+ dollars of GIN FDN Member’s dues and fees currently on account and any and all dues & fees members are still paying in to the GIN/Receiver Company from this point on. This money will be used by the Receiver to pay themselves and Mr. Trudeau’s fine. Be aware also that any purchase of GIN or its assets is likely to include continued Receiver influence to one degree or another…even if they call it periodic conferencing with their endorsed and secretly appointed management.

So, is there still a play here? Yes, in my opinion it is the same as the one many Member’s decided to do shortly after the Receiver was given control of GIN FDN. Stop paying dues that go straight to the Receiver’s accounts - not member benefits. And keep in mind that the Level’s 1 thru 6 materials all belong to the members that paid for those levels; and that these members or former members can all share all of this material with those they choose. So why would anyone pay the Receiver any more money to buy them?

Lastly, what does this mean for those that contributed to the SWGF? It means that you can hold you head up high, for every one that contributed to this fund has identified themselves as one who was willing to stand up and fight for what they believe in. It means you were willing to go the 12-Rounds with one of the toughest opponents one can face. It means that you are among the very few that were willing to take 100% responsibility for our club and prevail!

Prevail? How so when the motion was denied? We prevailed in many ways; three of which come to mind immediately. One, just standing up to fight is a win in itself; for no matter what the outcome of a fight if you stood up you feel good about it in the end.

Two, it allowed each and every Member to see exactly what he or she is made of. It enabled you to observe first hand your own response (or reaction) to intense circumstances which put your resolve to the test – did you run from the predator that blocked your path; did you succumb to it and let it have its way; did you try to avoid it or pretend it wasn’t there; or did you roll up your sleeves and attack!? This will be valuable intel to those that wish to strengthen their character…

And three, in our efforts to prevail over the circumstances and put our club (the true Members) in a defensible position WIN was formed which put us in control of the future of our club.

WIN’s progress & plans to date:

1. WIN or World Information NetworkFoundation LTD is now a legally established limited liability corporation in the state of Ohio.
2. The trademark WIN is now registered in the state of Ohio and the property of World Information NetworkFoundation LTD.
3. Member and commission compensation agreements are currently being reviewed and edited by our MLM attorney. The commission compensation plan is being structured so every member, if they choose to participate, can earn commissions with very minimal effort and eligibility requirements.
4. A fund raising investment opportunity to be made available to accredited investors is written and also under edit and review by our attorney to insure 100% compliance to applicable law to get WIN up and running as fast as possible and make available a way for interested Members to be a part of building the club and their wealth as the club grows.
5. Our website and the computational programing to organize and calculate sponsored members and applicable commission is under construction.
6. Our management structure is in place to get our club up and running with the positions confirmed of Executive Director, Deputy Executive Director, 3-Board of Directors (2 Confirmed to date), and 11 Regional Directors (9 Confirmed to date) in East & Western USA, East & Western Canada, Australia, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, Northern Europe (Scandinavia), Western Europe, and Hawaii. As other areas grow in WIN Members so too will Region Director Positions.
7. A survey is completed and being distributed to our 2 current Board of Directors and subsequently to all Regional Directors to determine what benefits and value members of our club want enabling all Members to participate in WIN’s direction.
8. Written and audio content of training levels 1 thru 12 (possibly more) is planned to begin as soon as our site and sponsorship program is launched.
9. A planned window of approximately 2 to 4 weeks will be made available (as soon as our computational programing is in place) for former GIN members to join and have their former level of training recognized in WIN without additions fees for those achieved levels. However all training levels 1 thru 12+ in WIN will be enhanced for greater impact and ability derivation from participants and these specific requirement must be met by Members to receive that official level pin in WIN.
10. Last but not least I have WIN’s Deputy Executive Director working on a Family Reunion Event for late October/early Nov this year. Now this is our short term dream at this stage but with the help of the best of the best of you I think we have a good shot at it – and I think the Wynn Resort Hotel in Las Vegas http://www.wynnlasvegas.com/# would be the perfect spot for WIN’s major 1st event launch!

So I close this update with that exciting dream. Plant that seed in the garden of your mind and water it daily. The funding, timing and people coming together is all that is necessary to get our club WIN on a roll and make our family reunion event at the Wynn Resort a reality...

Go to the current WIN site at http://winfdn.com/scroll down to the Donate button and contribute what you can, or even better begin your $150 per month reoccurring equivalent dues payment now – to help build the club - and have your $1000 initiation fee waved once we launch the new site.

We have everything we need by virtue of what we truly are, and we can make this dream come to Be. Doing and having are the next steps. Let’s create it together.
Thank you,
Perry Kiraly *

*As a post script to this update, let me make it clear that I am a citizen of the United States of America and have exercised my 1st Amendment right to express my opinion herein. I am not a lawyer and nothing in this update/opinion should be construed as legal advice. The information herein is my personal opinion and provided solely for educational purposes. The opinion expressed in this update is not meant to suggest or encourage any course of action without consulting with an attorney or one licensed to practice law. Everyone must evaluate and make up their own mind on any course of action they take.

It's no big surprise that they lost the appeal; that seemed to be a foregone conclusion. But Perry should be accustomed to losing appeals, because it seems to have happened to him before with some of his criminal cases. And he has a decades-long history there, spanning more than 30 years (the latest one indicates "Case Closed," yet the case summary lists a continuance date of 28 March, 2013, so I don't know what's going on there).



Anyway. Undaunted by losing the appeal, Perry soldiered on, and on March 10 he sent this update, dated March 9:

From: [Perry Kiraly]
Sent: 3/10/2014 12:21:40 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time
Subj: WIN Update 03-09-14

WIN Update: Perry Kiraly

March 9, 2014

Dear WIN Members and Supporters,
The opportunity is now available to be a part of building WIN and your wealth as our club grows.

This opportunity will be available for the next seven days ending on March 16, 2014.

200 “Units” total are being made available for purchase at $2,000.00 per unit through a Private Placement Memorandum. Each “unit” will pay the purchaser of that unit or units a share of 3% of the gross sales of the World Information Network Foundation LTD (WIN) for the next five-years. This five-year period will be extended, if necessary, until a minimum total of 500% is paid back on each unit purchased. During the initial five year period this percentage could well exceed 500% depending on the growth of the club.

Please contact me by March 16, 2014 at [phone number redacted], or email me at [email redacted] with your contact information for further details or questions and the legal documentation to purchase units. WIN’s attorney is also available for consultation regarding this offer.

Now is your chance to be a Founding Member in WIN. Take advantage of this opportunity and contact me now as 200 units is the limit of this offering.

Thank you,
Perry Kiraly

Seriously, Perry?!? That must be that "fund raising investment opportunity to be made available to accredited investors" -- item number 4 in last week's update.

Well, I guess it costs money to feed those hungry Shimkos.

The rest of y'all can do the math to calculate just how floppy is the flopportunity that Perry and his Scientology bud Yon Cole are offering. Honestly, it seems like a potentially limitless flop. The only limit to how much money you can lose is how much money you can give! At least that's how it looks to me. To tell the truth I have never been a numbers person. Numbers make my head hurt.

But I think I have gotten pretty good at recognizing scams and scammers. 
** I'll be in the courtroom in spirit. You don't honestly think I would travel to Chicago in the dead of winter, do you?

Ojai rummage sale: Kevin Trudeau's house of horrors plundered over the weekend

Dear Ones, I apologize for neglecting jailed serial scammer Kevin Trudeau for a couple of weeks, and not blogging about anything of importance in the interim. I got pretty busy with actual paid work assignments, and I was also weakened from laughter at the worse-than-stupid shenanigans of one of Katie's former b.f.f.s, Mocktor Loony Coldwell. I did manage to get in a blog post and a couple of updates about the latter, and you can read all about the little Teutonic twerp's latest lunacy here. But I'm bored with him. Let's get back to Katie.


So. There was a big rummage...um...estate sale at Katie's gaudy Ojai, California McMansion over this past weekend (Feb 28-March 2, 2014). The picture above was taken at the beginning of the sale as buyers were flocking in, with lines all the way out the door. Proceeds from the sale, as well as from the sale of the home itself, will go to pay the court-appointed receiver and the lawyers... and then if anything is left over, it's possible that some of it might go towards Katie's big ($37.6 million plus interest) fine to the FTC... and then at some point some moneys might possibly trickle out to the customers who were screwed by Katie's dumb diet book. That's the plan, anyway. (Sorry, GIN members who were screwed. Y'all are way at the back of the line. And not the line of eager shoppers going into Katie's house of horrors.)

The lamestream media were reporting the Ojai estate sale as an "auction," but it was merely a tag sale, a fact which I confirmed, even though I had pretty much figured that out myself after reading the write-ups from the people who were actually running the sale. I don't know how much longer the link to the catalog will be valid, but if you haven't seen it already, do pay a visit and take a look at some of the items that were up for grabs. I am sure you will sigh with envy over missing a chance to get a little piece of Katie.

Among many other places, the sale was announced on Katie's Facebook page on February 25. His proxy (presumably his longtime friend/business partner/ex-g.f. Janine Nubani Contursi) wrote on his behalf:

If anyone is interested in buying any of the furnishings/personal items at the Ojai property please see the link... The receiver will be selling everything. The items in the home are in my opinion priceless. Many are antiques. All have my energy infused in them. They are all like amulets. Remember...I shall return!

And his fawning fans responded with comments such as this:

You have some wonderful treasures. When you get out you'll have fun once again finding more.

So many beautiful things! I used the pictures to do some dream building. Felt so good. You can always create other beautiful spaces. Thanks for your positive posts. They encourage me to find joy in every moment. I love being alive. Your posts remind me every day how blessed we are. Thanks, KT.

Wow, Kevin! Every piece there is as unique as you are. But I have to say, I sure do admire you for being able to let go of material things so easily. "It's not about the money you make, it's the person you become." You taught us this at the events. It is so true, because this is why people love you so much. You practice what you preach. Kevin, we love you because you have a beautiful heart!!!! I am looking forward to your next post.

...making room for bigger and better things..!

KT it's not right what they are doing to your stuff, I know it's just stuff and you will get more if you want to. But it's still disgusting how any human being can be this vicious and inflict intentionally pain on others. I hope you could save at least the most irreplaceable books from the distant past. We love you!

If i had the money to buy the house with all in it, i would buy it and after, when this situation is over, i would give it back to him, but i am sure that after this situation Kevin is going to be more powerful than ever , i am sure Kevin is laughing about all this, because he knows that what is coming is imaginable, all the best

WOW...what magnificent treasures indeed! And now your soul seeks for treasures of another kind, and may you be blessed with an infiinite [sic] abundance of them of every kind, shape, and form wherever you are!

...if I had the money I'd buy everything, even the house and hold it for Kevin so that he can have it all back. But we look forward and look for the good, look for the gold.... Feel good now. I believe that everything will be just fine for you KT!! You're a good soul KT.

Kevin's situation reminds me The bible story about the man that lost all his children and fortune and then God gave him back and much more.

Okay, you get the drift.

Shockingly, not everyone was so enamored of Trudeau's treasures. After looking at some of the pictures on the estate sale managers' site, my friend Tim Donohoe remarked, "I see he had Saddam Hussein's decorator."

Some of the participants on the Skeptical Inquirer Facebook page had similar responses (here is the link to that thread):

Having looked at the pictures all I can say is that his interior decorator should be charged with crimes against taste. Just saying....

[Goes] to show you, you can have money without taste. More fit for an establishment in Nevada
Good grief, the catalog sounds like Liberace's house

So who was right: the Katie fans, or Tim and the skeptics?

I was informed by a very credible source that the stuff in the house was "mostly imitation crap bought from a warehouse sale," a fact that is readily apparent when looking at some of those photos. (Although I was also informed that the bedding was of good quality and the pool table was decent.) Kevin spent some good money on gaudy kitchen work and faux-finish paint work, which was of decent quality but reflective of terrible taste.

I also talked with someone who noted that much of the stuff was overpriced but nevertheless a lot of it was going out the door over the weekend anyway. Suckers!

I wonder who got Katie's prized autographed picture of Rush Limbaugh. (Rush and Kevin always were kind of turds of a feather, politically speaking. Particularly when Trudeau got on his racist rants.)

If you're just simply kicking yourself for not being able to attend this white elephant sale, not to worry: There will be another one in the spring, at Katie's Chicago-area (Oak Brook,Illinois) McMansion. Details to come.

* * * * *

The Ojai home has finally been sold too, and one of my sources told me that the place has to be cleared out because of that, though the new owners did get the pick of the loot. I guess this crushes Katie's dream of having someone buy the home and all of its furnishings so that all of those magically, mystically infused things could remain together (see below).

I also found out, from reading more than 200 pages of documents filed by the court-appointed receiver, that the home actually had been on the market for years, but due in large part to Trudeau's tacky taste, unloading it was a challenge. Here's a snippet from that pile of papers:

"Therefore anyone looking to purchase the property... will be confronted with a high cost of removing what Kevin Trudeau desired." That just about says it all.

I wrote about the Ojai house previously in my April 2013 post about Trudeau's doomed attempt to declare bankruptcy. In that post I visited Trudeau's past, citing a fawning November 2005 piece about Katie in Billiards Digest. That piece was written as he was launching his doomed International Pool Tournament (IPT). In describing himself as a visionary, he said, "I see things." Too bad he didn't see that orange jumpsuit and those bars... Anyway, the pic on this page is of Katie standing in the very home whose contents are now being sold off.

After studying the catalog of Trudeau's treasures, I asked someone who has known Trudeau very well for many years if Kevin's taste was really that atrocious, or if he was just being ironic (although Trudeau doesn't really strike me as the ironic type). "Or," I asked, "were the purchases calculated -- just props to employ for marketing a sense of opulence, in order to attract customers and investors for his schemes? Or were the gaudy appointments simply affirmations to convince himself that he had 'made it?' Or am I over-thinking this when I should just be having a snarking good time?"
 
The response was that I was both over- and under-thinking. "He had a desire for high-end things and bought what he could. He did well with clothes and cars, but anything else that took culture or class, major fail. Where you under-think is that his core personality is the little adopted boy who never grew up. Lots to prove, be better than everyone, become king. With matters of home and family and relationships he was like an eight-year old."

That makes sense to me.

By the way, the media made sort of a thing out of the February 25 blurb on Katie's Facebook page about his stuff being like amulets. But that wasn't the first time that in the interest of priming the pump for a rummage sale, Katie tried to convince people that his stuff has magical properties and special energies. Back in December, Kevin's proxy Janine tried to convince his gullible followers that his stately homes and all of the things in them were specially infused with special magickal energies. This is from December 2013.

"Perfect abundance/luck energy... The energy is off the charts!" As long as there are people who continue to believe in this kind of nonsense, there will be the Kevin Trudeaus to part them from their money.

PS added 18 March 2014: Here, from the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) site, is an account from someone who attended the rummage sale.