Telemarketer Kevin Trudeau taking on FTC after being banned from health product infomercials

Kevin Trudeau deserves tremendous credit for standing his ground and marketing lifesaving health information, despite attempts by the FTC (and the powers that be) to censor his work. The FDA, no doubt, would love nothing better than to have Trudeau off the air. Why? Because he's teaching people how to get well and reverse diseases. And that means drug companies lose paying customers. To Big Pharma, there's no profit in wellness.

• Kevin Trudeau, an oft-seen face on the infomercial circuit with a history of run-ins with consumer protection authorities, sued the Federal Trade Commission on Feb. 28 over a press release about him that the agency issued in 2004.
• Trudeau seeks damages estimated in the "many millions of dollars" and an injunction against the FTC for breach of contract, said his lawyer, David Bradford of Chicago.
• The press release violated the terms of a settlement between Trudeau and the FTC by implying Trudeau committed wrongdoing when the terms expressly stated that he made no such admission, according to the suit.
• "It's making false and misleading statements against companies," Trudeau told DM News.
• According to the release, Trudeau made false claims about the benefits of his coral calcium and Biotape products -- that coral calcium could cure cancer and other illnesses and that Biotape provided permanent relief from severe pain.
• The release also explained how he was "broadly banned" from appearing in, producing or disseminating infomercials.
• The main body of the release states that infomercials for books, newsletters and informational publications are exempt from the ban.
• The press release implies that Trudeau is a "habitual false advertiser," Bradford said, a false charge that damages Trudeau's reputation and makes it hard for him to do business.
• The FTC implied the $2 million was a fine or penalty, Bradford said, but the money went to consumer redress, and Trudeau has always offered an unconditional money-back guarantee to customers.
• No stranger to controversy or the law, Trudeau has been the subject of numerous investigations by the FTC and state attorneys general.
• That revelation hurt the stock price of Nutrition for Life International, a multilevel marketing firm of which he was a top recruiter.