Donald Trump is running for president, but comes with some interesting baggage. Donald Trump currently has lawsuits facing him, some brought by former students and one by the New York Attorney General. Mr. Trump is scheduled to be questioned under oath next month in one of the class action lawsuits. The suit is brought by Art Cohen, who spent more than $36,000 on the Trump University programs. Cohen’s suit alleges that Donald Trump’s university failed to provide its promised premier education.
The Trump University was launched in 2005, and promised to teach students Donald Trump’s investing techniques, to gain wealth in real estate. The suit claims the teachers were not professors hand-picked by Donald Trump, as advertised, but were instead salespeople who were paid commissions for sales of the seminars and products. The claim is the entire university was a scam.
The suit also alleges the University would “upsell” students in its initial free seminar to buy a $1,495 “one year apprenticeship,” which was actually a “three-day seminar.” If they bought the apprenticeship program, the teachers would then attempt to upsell them again pressuring them to buy “mentorships,” at a cost of $10 thousand, and up. The most expensive program, the Gold Elite program, cost $35,000.
The Cohen suit states,
“Even then, after investing nearly $36,500, students still do not receive the Donald Trump ‘secrets’ they were promised, but instead are constantly pressured to pay for additional live events, products and books.”
In addition to Donald Trump’s upcoming deposition, U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel of California has ordered the plaintiff “may reopen depositions” of various Trump witnesses who were asked, but did not answer, questions about the money Mr. Trump invested and received from Trump University.
This Trump University lawsuit is not Donald Trump’s the only complaint. In another class action suit representing students from California, Florida and New York, others have made similar claims. In a lawsuit brought by the State of New York, a trial court found Trump was personally liable for running an unlicensed school, and must pay restitution to approximately 800 consumers nationwide who took courses after May 31, 2010. In addition, the court authorized Trump’s attorneys to take the deposition of more than 5,000 consumers who took courses before that date.
Before getting on the political stage, Donald Trump spent plenty of time in the court room. Mr. Trump has been sued, and has filed numerous lawsuits over the years. Some were frivolous. No one has asked the question of whether or not Donald Trump is trustworthy.
