Judge tries to shut down Trudeau fight over taxes

A judge sought to end the snit Thursday between TV pitchman Kevin Trudeau and a receiver put in charge of Trudeau’s assets nearly two years ago.

Trudeau, who is in prison in Alabama, has complained through his attorneys that the court-appointed receiver had failed to file tax returns for Trudeau, his wife or 19 of Trudeau’s purported businesses. But the receiver countered that Trudeau had refused to turn over control of those businesses, claiming “he either lacked control over them or the entities were empty shells with nothing to turn over.”

U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman shot down a Trudeau motion Thursday that sought to force the receiver to file the tax returns.

“The receiver can only file returns for those assets it has in its possession,” Gettleman said.

And as for Trudeau’s personal tax returns, the judge later added, “if he had assets or income that he didn’t report, that’s his problem, not mine or the receiver’s.”

The self-improvement guru has been accused of defying Chicago’s federal courts for more than a decade. U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman called Trudeau “deceitful to the very core” when he sentenced Trudeau last year to 10 years in prison after a contempt conviction.

Gettleman also noted Thursday that “Mr. Trudeau’s income was not exactly an easy thing to track down.”