US Supreme Court Upholds TV Pitchman's Jail Term On Weight Loss Book

The US Supreme Court on Monday rejected former TV pitchman Kevin Trudeau's bid to overturn his criminal contempt conviction and 10-year prison sentence for exaggerating the content of a weight loss book he marketed through infomercials.

Without comment, the Supreme Court let stand a February 5 ruling by the federal appeals court in Chicago, which upheld Trudeau's November 2013 conviction over his promotion of the 2007 book "The Weight Loss Cure 'They' Don't Want You To Know About."

Viewers were told they could "cure" obesity without dieting or exercise, but the book told readers to consume only 500 calories and walk one hour each day, take hormones, and undergo liver and colon cleanses and enema-like colonics.

Jurors found that Trudeau violated a 2004 Federal Trade Commission consent order, which barred him from misrepresenting the content of books in infomercials in which he starred.

In his Supreme Court appeal, Trudeau said his right to a speedy trial was violated, and that he would have been acquitted if prosecutors were required to prove that he knew what he was doing was wrong.