Wednesday, July 21, 2021

Serial scammer Kevin Trudeau: new websites, same old hustle

Kevin Trudeau's loyal water carriers (aka "virtual full-time volunteers" who serve him "with joy and honor") want you to send him money now -- as much as you possibly can -- to support him once his prison sentence is complete in May of 2022. And they're working hard to convince you that even though Kevin could most assuredly make zillions of dollars solely from his genius and his incredible marketing skills, as he has done numerous times before, he now intends to focus all of his energy on selflessly serving humanity -- so naturally, he needs humanity to serve him by paying for his basic and not-so-basic needs. Don't buy it.

If you're wondering what previously imprisoned/currently on "home confinement" serial scammer Kevin Trudeau, aka KT, aka Katie on this Whirled, has been up to lately, you're not alone. He hasn't been in the news very much lately, or even on most of the blogs. But I haven't forgotten him.

Periodically I've been checking The Official Kevin Trudeau Fan Club page on Facebook, looking for updates, and for several months the most recent post was from the pseudonymous "Rahelios,"
dated February 14, 2021. The post simply listed links to "new material" on the Kevin Trudeau dot com site. But for months after that... nothing.

I'd heard buzz that one of the conditions of Trudeau's "home confinement" was that he stay off of social media. But in truth he hadn't actually been on social media himself while in actual prison; instead he had been conveying his propaganda through proxies ever since
his pre-trial confinement in Chicago's Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC). What, I wondered, was to prevent him from continuing to do that while on "home confinement?"

It's a moot question now. I just checked in, and it appears that
The Official Kevin Trudeau Fan Club page is active again, as of July 12, 2021. The page has a new look, including a logo that looks a lot like the old GIN (Global Information Network) seal, and "Rahelios" appears to be gone, but other than that... it's the same old song. The post seems to be a mission statement of sorts for the refurbed Facebook page, as well as an announcement/reminder that the KT Fan Club is an actual LLC.

The Official Kevin Trudeau Fan Club LLC was founded by two of Kevin Trudeau's loyal supporters including Tonya Canada

The Fan Club owners are long time students and supporters of Kevin who have benefited greatly from Kevin’s teachings. We have gone through most of Kevin’s Courses, Books, Seminars, and Workshops.

We have seen first hand how life changing Kevin’s training is, not only for ourselves, but for the thousands of people we have communicated with over the years whose lives are better because of their exposure to Kevin and his teachings.

We serve Kevin as virtual full-time volunteers with joy and honor. It is a privilege to help Kevin serve and achieve his mission of “Positively Impacting Humanity”.

The post is followed by some unabashedly supportive comments, which was to be expected, but one person had a question. She wrote, "Ok Tonya Canada is one of the supporters who founded this club. Who is the other supporter running this fan club? And how can we get in touch with them personally before contributing?"

The author of the original post simply replied with a contact link and explained that messages sent through the contact form go directly to Tonya. But there was nothing about who the other loyal supporter was --
an omission that I commented on myself.

I'm guessing the silence could be because that other loyal supporter is no longer a loyal supporter. And if I were to guess who it was, I'd probably say it's "Rahelios," who used to be so prolific on the Fan Club page and related sites, and I would further speculate that maybe the Fan Club just doesn't wanna talk about it. But hey, Tonya is still there to help carry Trudeau's water for him, so there's that. (Note to Tonya: It's not too late to wake up and get the hell out of the rabbit hole too. Do it for your family if not for yourself.)

At the end of the July 12 post is a link to a new web site,
Kevin Trudeau Fan Club dot com, the main purpose of which is to recap The Myth of Saint Kevin the Fearless, First Amendment martyr, and to beg for money to support the sainted man once he is fully released. The header on the landing page, graced by what appears to be a newer pic of Kevin with somewhat grayer hair than most of us remember, reads:

Kevin Needs Your Help!

For over 30 Years Kevin Trudeau has been serving humanity by exposing corporate and government corruption, revealing secrets “THEY” don’t want you to know.

Kevin has been a fearless voice to the voiceless and has given power to the powerless.
For three decades the “Powers that Be” have been trying to silence and discredit Kevin by spreading misinformation, distorted facts, and outright lies.

In what is being called “The Greatest Injustice in American History”, the US Federal Government has put Kevin in prison for 10 years for “Contempt of Court”, as well as confiscated all of Kevin’s assets and possessions worldwide, leaving Kevin penniless. We believe this is because Kevin dared to go on TV and talk about his #1 NY Times bestselling books and express his opinions about natural ways to cure and prevent disease....

Actually, anybody who believes that Kevin was pursued and ultimately imprisoned by the Feds merely because he went on TV to express his opinions, etc. etc. is either uninformed, hopelessly naive, willfully blind, or stupid. But I digress. What really struck me was the phrase, "what is being called 'The Greatest Injustice in American History.'" Really?!? A greater injustice than slavery, greater than denying Blacks and women the right to vote for centuries, greater than the systemic racism that continues in America to this day, greater than the oppression of LGBTQ+ folks, greater than the internment of Japanese Americans in "camps" on American soil... and on and on and on and on? Greater than all of that?

But that definitely sounds like something Kevin would say about himself, knowing that his fawning followers will swallow it whole and regurgitate it on his cue.

The intro copy continues:

Kevin has served over seven and a half years in a US Federal Prison and is now on “Home Confinement” serving the remainder of his 10-year sentence.

Kevin has done so much for humanity and virtually risked his life by sharing insider information that “They” don’t want us to know about.

"Virtually" risked his life? How does one do that? Following that bold claim is a list of much of the recycled, rebranded misinformation on which Trudeau has been crapitalizing for decades.

But wait, there's more! You -- yes, you -- have a chance to "Become A PARTNER" With Kevin.

Everyone who gives a monetary gift to Kevin will be put on a special list called
“Friends of Kevin”.


As soon as Kevin has completed his “sentence", there will be a special event with Kevin, given exclusively for “Friends of Kevin". You will get to meet Kevin in person, shake his hand, and get a personal photo. Kevin will give you special “training” and many other
“gifts and blessings”.

When you give to Kevin and help him, you release “The Power of Giving”.  Kevin has taught on this subject and offers Free Lessons on this “magical” method of unleashing the attractive force of the Universe...

I think I know something about that "special event"... even though between now and release time, it could change a dozen times. But here's what I wrote about it early last year.

In case you're still just a little suspicious, given Kevin Trudeau's
"lifetime of epic grift," as my blogging colleague Salty Droid once put it, fear not, for Kevin has Seen The Light. You can read all about it in a section bearing the bold subhead, Kevin can help you attain inner peace, joy and bliss that is beyond human comprehension. (Shades of Jesus H. Christ's "peace that passeth all understanding?")

In the eight years Kevin has been incarcerated, he went through a massive transformation process himself. He went through a “Wall of Fire” that he wrote about in his “Prison Diaries” [link]

Kevin spent hours in daily meditation. He engaged in Yoga and other mental and spiritual practices. He was committed to daily physical exercise and enjoyed solitude with no distractions. He worked with an internationally renowned and famous “Guru” from India helping him with his transformation.

This allowed Kevin a rare opportunity to go to a new level of awareness and open his “heart” even more.

Kevin’s vibration is higher than ever. His awareness and state of consciousness are beyond most people’s imagination (yet he says he is still transforming). We see that his mental, spiritual and energetic abilities that have been released are beyond the word "powerful" (yet Kevin humbly says he is far from complete). 

Some who meet Kevin say his abilities are “miraculous” and some call them “superhuman”. Kevin says they all come from the “grace” of his “Master”.

Kevin is committed to giving you all he has and more. He is committed to helping you achieve all your dreams and live a life so spectacular, abundant, and filled with success, that it is beyond your wildest imaginations.

But more important than his past business success, is the fact that Kevin is more spiritually aware and conscious now. He is “awake” now more than ever. This means Kevin can help you in ways that no other “success coach” can, and can guide you to perfected Master’s that can take you even further.

Suck on that, doubters! For some Whirled perspective on Katie's rebranding of himself as a guru, see this December 2019 post. And years before that, he was enthusiastically exploiting the spiritual-revelations-in-prison theme, in a more or less generic manner. In other words, his spiritual-leader shtick didn't just spring up overnight.

But perhaps you wonder exactly what your money will be used for. Good thing that
there's a page to tell you all about it. The writer begins by hammering home the point that you should feel sorry for Katie, and then lists some of the reasons. I've taken the liberty of inserting some commentary myself; it's the non-italicized text [in brackets].

A US Federal Judge then held Kevin in “Contempt” for expressing his opinions and talking about his books on TV and radio. [We've been through that before on this blog, many times; here's a fairly recent-ish post that addresses some of those distortions and lies, and here's a much less recent one.]

The Judge then ordered the confiscation of all of Kevin’s worldwide assets, money, and companies (hundreds of millions of US dollars in value).
[Somebody call the waaaaahmbulance... at any rate, there's a lot of speculation that Katie still has assets hidden in far-flung places, and I am inclined to believe that.]

The government destroyed all Kevin’s businesses and associated entities, shutting them all down.
[Actually, the major businesses, most notably Natural Cures and GIN, were sold or redistributed to Kevin's buddies. They're still going strong, and
GIN is still in cahoots with Kevin and uses him in their promos.]

The government virtually “burned” some of Kevin’s inventories of books, audios and course materials.
[How does one virtually burn something? In any case, Kevin's books and other infofrauducts are still readily available.]

This is one of the most egregious displays of government censorship and suppression of Free Speech rights in American history.
[Yeah, we've heard all of that before too.]

Kevin has been released from prison and is now in home confinement serving the remainder of his 10 year sentence.

Kevin is penniless and “homeless” (he is staying with a friend).
[Cue the violins.]

He has nothing except a couple of suitcases and some clothes.
[I love violin music, don't you? Although I prefer the cello.]

The one thing no one can take from Kevin is his ability to “create” as well as his perpetual inner peace.

Kevin has no living family members.
[What about his three-years-older bro Robert
(aka Robert Maurice-Pierre Trudeau), who, like Kevin, was adopted? Bobby isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, and he's a rabid Trumpster/right-winger/anti-vaxxer/conspiracy theorist, but Kevin treated him like crap during GIN's heyday and I don't think he deserved that. The two brothers are almost certainly estranged, but still...
And what about any aunts and uncles and cousins and so forth? Maybe they've all abandoned poor Kevin and therefore are "dead to him."]

But he does have loyal and supportive friends all over the world.

We stand with Kevin Trudeau, believe in him and his mission, and will always “have Kevin’s back”

Now that Kevin is released, we want his “financial needs” met and taken care of...

This just raises the question: If Kevin is such a master creator and business starter and all of that, why can't he just pull himself up by his bootstraps once he's released? The Trudeau toadies (Tru-toadies?) have an answer for that too.

Kevin could easily come out of prison and start an international company again. Mega successful people from all around the world are making multi-million dollar offers to Kevin. They all want Kevin full time and they want to be a business partner with Kevin.

Kevin is getting offers for large amounts of equity in companies, huge salaries, board positions, multi-million dollar cash advances and more to commit full time to their ventures.

Everyone knows Kevin could very quickly create another multi-billion dollar global business empire. There are hundreds of people around the world that have offered to provide tens of millions in financing, start-up capital and funding for any “Kevin Trudeau Project”.

Kevin however, wants to focus on “The Mission”.

Kevin is now dedicated to fulfilling his destiny and purpose by focusing 100% exclusively on helping people around the world achieve better lives, better health, as well as financial and spiritual Freedom.

Kevin wants people to be “Enlightened” to “TRUTH”. 

Kevin is 100% focused on his mission to help people around the world achieve “Success”, make all their dreams come true, and improve the quality of their lives in every area: Financial; Spiritual; Emotional; Health; Relationships; Career/Business; and more.

Kevin is dedicated to “Selfless Service” to humanity.

OUR purpose at The Official Kevin Trudeau Fan Club is to help Kevin make this a reality.

We believe that if Kevin never has to worry about living expenses, he can spend all his time and energy on...

And then there's a list of all of the content/products/services that Katie can be perpetrating -- all for the good of humanity, of course -- if he doesn't have to worry about living expenses.

If you want specifics about how your contribution to the coffers of Saint Kevin/GuruKev might be used, here's a partial list:

  • a place for Kevin to live and all his living expenses (utilities etc)
  • furnishings for Kevin’s residence
  • food
  • nutritional supplements
  • computers; cell phones; internet services; mobile phone service
  • personal care items
  • medical and all other insurances
  • dental care, haircuts, eye care (contacts and glasses)
  • car; insurance; petrol (gas); parking; maintenance
  • clothes
  • travel: transportation, hotels, meals 
  • lawyers and other professional services
  • subscriptions
  • secretaries, assistants, transcribers, researchers, social media managers, booking agents, drivers, security, etc.
  • and many other possible uses of the funds donated

I thought Kevin didn't believe in medical care. Or insurance companies, for that matter. Well, never mind. That list raises yet another question: Will Kevin expect to be supported in the lavish lifestyle to which he had infamously become accustomed before mean Unca Sam took it all away? Will he want stuff like Bentleys and expensive cigars and pricey booze and fancy cuff links? (And by the way, this is far from the first time that Trudeau has claimed to be penniless. That was his big excuse back in 2012 when he was still trying to avoid paying his fines.)

But I suppose that none of that matters to the joyful virtual volunteers. And in case you need further convincing that your money will be going to A Great Cause, there's this:

Right now, Kevin is giving up hundreds of millions of dollars by saying “no” to all the business offers coming to him from around the world.

Kevin has decided that going forward, he will live a life of 100% service to the betterment of humanity.

We are all going to be very blessed because Kevin has made this commitment. He is in fact making a commitment to each of us.

We all owe Kevin so much.

Remember, Kevin “knows this stuff”. He does not have to do this for us and make even more sacrifices.

He can live the amazing life of the “Rich and Famous”.

But Kevin is giving that all up to “SERVE HUMANITY” and serve us.

He is doing this for us, not for himself...

Of course, we've heard all of this before, and if you haven't heard it or seen it, you've either led a sheltered online existence or you are experiencing (relatively short-term) memory problems. If the latter, I'd get it checked out if I were you. Years ago, when Kevin was still fighting the FTC sanctions and fines and whatnot, and devoting most of his efforts to staying one step ahead of the Feds and keeping his gilded butt out of prison, he and his enablers were spewing that exact same narrative. It was continually repeated online across various forums, as well as on Kevin's defunct radio show and other Kevin-friendly media: Kevin Trudeau doesn't have to do all of this. He's risking his freedom, his money, and his very life to bring you the truths that "they" don't want you to know!

And people swallowed it hook, line, and sinker. And they still are.

I can't help but be reminded of the Trumpanzee article of faith that
#NeverWasMyPresident Donald J. Trump didn't have to run for and accept the presidency; he was, the Trumpsters aver, living a tremendously happy, wealthy, and totally successful life, but he chose to sacrifice most of that for The Good of America. Trump himself was the main perpetrator of that lie (and his eldest son did his part too -- sometimes in egregiously tone-deaf contexts) -- even as Trudeau is the main perp behind his own "self-sacrifice" myth.

None of these grifters could effectively spread their myths without the ready assistance of their respective armies of faithful enablers. Matter of fact, Trump and Trudeau share a significant fan base -- which is not surprising since the two inveterate hucksters have a lot in common.

And that brings me to a question that some may be pondering, and which I've actually been asked: why am I still going on and on about Kevin Trudeau after all these years? Isn't he kind of passe? Haven't I made the point, over and over, that he's a huckster? Can't we just move on? The simple answer to that has to do with the aforementioned point that Trudeau has so much in common with Trump, and that their respective and mutual fan bases are veering more and more towards existing in a universe of "alternative facts." In both cases, there's a big cult mentality going on. Trump is Trudeau, writ large, and while many of us may wish that both would just go away, that seems unlikely to happen any time soon. With Trudeau, the appeal to alt-reality may just mean that more people will get snookered out of their hard-earned money, to greater or lesser degrees. With Trump... well, as January's insurrection/day of rage demonstrated, those "alternative facts" -- and cult mentality -- could spell the death of American democracy.

But back to Trudeau. It's possible you're protesting that much of the content I've been going on about in this post wasn't generated by Kevin himself, but by his fans/volunteers, and that he isn't actually doing the begging. Maybe you think I'm being unfair to him. To that I can only reply that begging by proxy is still begging, and it's a pretty sure bet that Kevin is well aware of every word that is being written on his behalf -- and more than likely is directing it behind the scenes.

Still, the begging is definitely a group effort. And as much as I still try to be generally compassionate towards victims of scammers, there's a big part of me that thinks that at some point, some folks -- be they Kevin Trudeau fans, Donald Trump supporters, or both -- deeply deserve to be scammed. I really don't like feeling that way about my fellow human beans, but there you are.


But there's one thing to keep in mind: Kevin Trudeau has not yet completed his sentence, even though he's out of prison camp and in the private home of a GIN member somewhere in Chicagoland. There are almost certainly numerous conditions he must meet before and after his official release. I've written about that several times here,
including this January 2020 post, which includes the original sentencing order that lists the terms of Trudeau's supervised release. And unless I miss my guess, the judges responsible for Trudeau's sentence won't be as easily fooled as the fans and toadies. Those judges may have ideas of their own about what Katie can and can't do.

Even so... it's been demonstrated time and again over the decades that you can't keep a good scammer down. One way or the other, Kevin Trudeau may yet find a way to reprise his full-fledged scamming lifestyle and recreate his glory daze, once he's out. For what it's worth, I'll be watching.

* * * * *
Hey, I'M not ashamed to beg!
(But then again, I've never pretended to be a jillionaire.)
Anyway... July 27, 2021 marks the 15th birthday of Whirled Musings
If you're so inclined, why not help celebrate WM's Q
uinceaƱera?
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