Donald Trump. Photo courtesy of bgr.
Summary: The New York Trump University lawsuit is proceeding to trial.
Donald Trump is known for speaking his mind, and now he may have to flex those communication skills in court. Buzzfeed reports that the leading Republican candidate may have to testify in a fraud case in regards to his now-defunct school, Trump University, which notably is not a university. Yesterday, Judge Cynthia Kern ruled the lawsuit will go to trial.
In 2013, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed a lawsuit against Trump and Trump University, saying essentially it was bogus. The “University” was not an actual university but expensive seminars, designed to help students become real estate moguls like The Donald himself.
“Trump University engaged in deception at every stage of consumers’ advancement through costly programs and caused real financial harm,” Schneiderman said at the time. “Trump University, with Donald Trump’s knowledge and participation, relied on Trump’s name recognition and celebrity status to take advantage of consumers who believed in the Trump brand.”
In addition to seminars, the school sold “Trump Elite” memberships that cost anywhere from $10,000 to $35,000. Students allege that university officials urged them to buy memberships, even on credit; and they claim that the memberships proved ultimately useless and the expert instructors they were supposed to get were not actually experts themselves.
Below is an ad that Buzzfeed posted from a 2008 issue of the Arizona Republic. Some former students claimed to believe they could become millionaires in a year because of ads like this, which feature Trump’s likeness and bullying bravado.
While most would’ve taken these types of ads and their claims with a grain of salt, the school left thousands of get-rich-wannabes in debt. Trump has denied any wrongdoing, stating that the school was “terrific” and helped a lot of people; but the topic of Trump University has often been used as a barb by his opposing candidates who question his ethics.
Schneiderman said that Trump would most likely be called as a witness in the trial. The lawsuit is seeking $40 million for 5,000 former students across the United States. Trump University is also facing two other similar California cases.
It will be interesting to see how these three suits fare. Recently a law school student sued her school because of lack of jobs and false advertising, and the judge ended up in favor of the school, citing employment is not a guarantee.
Source: Buzzfeed