Summary: Former employees did not try to disguise the true nature of the for-profit university started by Donald Trump as a ruthless money seeking institution that cared little about its students.
During testimony for the Trump University case, former managers of the for-profit school did not hold back. The testimonies depicted the school started by presidential candidate Donald Trump as a corrupt business that used high-pressure sales tactics, made deceptive claims, hired unqualified instructors, and exploited students.
A former sales manager, Ronald Schnackenberg, described in his testimony how he was punished for not encouraging a couple, already struggling financially, to take a $35,000 real estate class. He knew putting out that much money for the class would endanger their economic future but another salesman persuaded them to purchase the class anyway. As Mr. Schnackernberg explained, “I believe that Trump University was a fraudulent scheme and that it preyed upon the elderly and uneducated to separate them from their money.”
The testimony documents were released under court order on Tuesday showing a not so favorable image of the billionaire. He has recently branched out from real estate to selling steaks, ties, and education under the guise of his name.
Read Judge Rules Trump University Internal Documents Must be Released to learn more.
Trump started the university in 2005 with 93 percent ownership. He acted as the chief promoter, not a day-to-day manager, of the university that boasted being a tool for financial empowerment that would improve the lives of ordinary Americans. The web video transcript said, the school would, “teach you better than the best business school.”
Internal instructions for the salespeople released in the documents Tuesday state, “we teach the technique of using OPM … Other People’s Money.” These instructions meant customers with little money were encouraged to pay for tuition with credit cards, “It’s O.K., just max out your credit card,” recalled one event manager of her fellow colleagues saying.
See NY Attorney General Sues Donald Trump over his Bogus “Trump University”.
Another former employee testified of a deceptive lure used to entice students by claiming that Mr. Trump himself would be “actively involved” in their education which was not true. Trump’s lawyers have backfired that the former employees had been “completely discredited” during depositions but refused to release deposition transcripts.
Trump also tried to discredit the judge in the California case by calling him a biased “hater of Donald Trump,” and putting an emphasis on his ethnic background – “we believe Mexican.” The judge is in fact of Mexican descent but was born in Indiana.
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To learn more about the Trump University case, read Trump Forced to Be Witness in Trump University Civil Case.
Photo: democracynow.org