President-elect Donald Trump has reached a multimillion dollar settlement in the fraud cases against his now-defunct for profit Trump University. Trump will pay a reported $25 million settle the case, and will pay up to $1 million in penalties to the State of New York for violating state education laws.

There were three lawsuits pending against Trump University; two class action suits in California and one case brought by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. According to Reuters, all of the cases would be covered in the settlement.

Schneiderman has said that more than 5,000 students were defrauded out of $40 million after paying up to $35,000 to learn all of Trump’s real estate investing “secrets” from his “hand-picked” instructors.

Trump’s settlement comes across a bit ironic; Trump has said many times that he doesn’t settle cases. In fact, at the Republican presidential debate in Detroit, Trump said:

I don’t settle cases. I don’t do it because that’s why I don’t get sued very often, because I don’t settle, unlike a lot of other people.

However, he seems to have reconsidered his staunch stance.

So the orange sleazeball is going to avoid trial on the Trump U case! Settlement with no admission of guilt. What a load of crap!

— philip harris (@pharris830) November 18, 2016

U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel urged both parties to settle. He is the same judge that Trump claimed couldn’t be impartial in the case because he was “of Mexican heritage.”

Trump has categorically denied any wrongdoing in the case, and even claimed that 98% of the people who signed up for the courses expressed satisfaction with them.

A spokesperson for Schneiderman said he “has always been open to a settlement that fairly compensates the many victims of Trump University who have been waiting years for a resolution.”

Interviewer: so it says here you went to TU? What school is that?

Trump University

Interviewer: pic.twitter.com/J9WJCu5pXK

— Kevin Flood (@FLOOKLYN) November 18, 2016

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Last week’s top stories on Law Street discussed the livestock industry’s impact on the environment, allegations that Trump University was a scam, and whether or not occupational laws have gotten out of control. ICYMI, keep reading below for more on Law Street’s best of the week!

1. How Does the Livestock Industry Impact the Environment?

Globally, we eat more meat now than ever before. Cultures that traditionally held vegetarian diets have become steadily more meat-oriented. In many areas, meat is seen not only as a delicacy but also as a luxury expense and a symbol of status. As the production of meat has gone up in recent decades and the cost has steadily dropped, meat is now much more affordable than ever before. This has led to what is referred to as a “global meatification of our diets.”

However, this new trend carries with it a series of environmental burdens. The livestock industry creates enormous amounts of waste, generates pollution, and also releases large amounts of methane into the atmosphere. Read the full article here.

2. Was Trump University a Scam?

What do you get when you cross a get-rich-quick scheme with a for-profit college, while adding a healthy dose of reality TV megalomania? The answer is Trump University–a series of “classes” designed to teach aspiring young entrepreneurs the secrets of real estate passed on from the Donald himself.

Trump University, which Marco Rubio used as fodder for his attacks on Trump during last night’s Republican primary debate, did indeed exist, and many people are mad about it. Rubio was correct when he told the debate audience that there are pending lawsuits against Trump for his involvement with the organization. Read the full article here.

3. Have Occupational Licensing Laws Gotten Out Of Control?

Back in the day, entering into a profession could be very challenging for newcomers. This was particularly true in European countries during the Middle Ages when each profession developed its own organization for members to mutually assist each other and control entrance into the field. These organizations were called guilds and functioned as part union/part cartel. Those lucky enough to belong to a guild reaped benefits like a pension for his family and networking opportunities. This also regulated the quality of the services the profession had in a given locality, which benefitted consumers. For people who wanted to become part of a profession but were not born into a family that held a spot or were otherwise well-connected, guilds functioned as a barrier to entry. This kept competition tightly controlled and promoted the interests of existing members at the expense of customers and those seeking entry. Read the full article here.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post ICYMI: Best of the Week appeared first on Law Street.

Trump University was a fraud, a lie, and a scheme. That’s what former employees at the school said in testimony revealed on Tuesday; the statements were given as a part of a lawsuit against the so-called university.

But “Trump University” wasn’t a real university at all, and the students did not get to learn the secrets behind Trump’s enormous real estate success. The now-public documents paint a picture of a money-obsessed and unscrupulous business that used high-pressure sales tactics to attract students.

The ongoing lawsuit was filed by discontented former students, and the documents that were released on Tuesday contain statements from former managers, as well as the handbook salespeople used to entice students. The instructions reveal how they were supposed to sell expensive classes to struggling students using sales psychology techniques, and to lure them in by claiming that Trump would play an active role in their education–but that simply wasn’t true.

Salespeople were also told to encourage everyone to pay with their credit cards, and even to open up as many credit cards as possible: “It’s O.K., just max out your credit card,” a former event manager named Corrine Sommer remembered salespeople telling prospective students.

The entire case has become even more convoluted after Trump attacked and insulted the judge presiding over the case. U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel was the one who ordered the release of the documents, as a response to a request by the Washington Post. Trump boiled over and called the judge “hostile,” a “hater,” and said that he is “we believe, Mexican, which is great. I think that’s fine.” Curiel, for the record, was born in Indiana.

Hillary Clinton soon jumped in and used the latest development in the Trump University lawsuit to attack Trump on Twitter. She said that the scandal is more proof that Trump is unfit to be President.

Another Trump University practice, according to its own employees: target struggling families to fleece them. pic.twitter.com/VUH18SpBlD

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 1, 2016

FACT: Trump University identified those most vulnerable and then targeted them with predatory marketing tactics. https://t.co/xDeDI1KqOr

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 1, 2016

At her rally in New Jersey on Wednesday Clinton said: “[Trump] is trying to scam America the way he scammed all those people at Trump University.”

You can see the Trump documents for yourself here.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Trump University Tactics Revealed: Former Employees Call it a “Scam” appeared first on Law Street.

What do you get when you cross a get-rich-quick scheme with a for-profit college, while adding a healthy dose of reality TV megalomania? The answer is Trump University–a series of “classes” designed to teach aspiring young entrepreneurs the secrets of real estate passed on from the Donald himself.

Trump University, which Marco Rubio used as fodder for his attacks on Trump during last night’s Republican primary debate, did indeed exist, and many people are mad about it. Rubio was correct when he told the debate audience that there are pending lawsuits against Trump for his involvement with the organization.

There are currently two active class action lawsuits against either Trump or his company. The first is Cohen v. Donald J Trump, a lawsuit against Mr. Trump specifically which cites a violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. This lawsuit highlights that the New York State Education Department warned Trump that it was unlawful to call the unlicensed ‘school’ a university. There’s also a national lawsuit named Makaeff et al. v Trump University LLC, which cites a violation of state consumer protection false advertising and elder financial abuse laws. Some people who paid for an education with Trump University are dually covered by these class actions.

Some of the failures of Trump University can be attributed to mismanagement. But many of the complaints against it allege deception and fraudulent practices. The university promised to reveal Trump’s real estate secrets. This was done through video advertising featuring Donald himself as well as flyers mailed out with Donald Trump’s signature. When interested would-be students attended these free seminars they found a marketing pitch for a three-day conference that would cost about $1,500.

Naturally a portion of these free attendees decided to pay for the three day conference–after all who wouldn’t pay less than $2,000 to receive “the last real estate education you will ever need for the rest of your life?” But these attendees were disappointed yet again when they arrived at the three day conference only to find that they were able to take a picture with a cardboard cutout of Donald Trump, and then encouraged to sign up for a Gold Elite program. At this point, the students who hadn’t realized how similarly this program structure reflected Scientology and had never heard of a scam, agreed to charge $35,000 to their credit cards for this special program.

The lawsuits claim that Trump University even provided scripts for the students to use when calling their credit card companies to explain how they could afford such a large charge. Students were allegedly told to include potential future earnings in their income reports to allow the credit card companies to provide such a sizable sum.

In typical Trump fashion, almost every detail of the lawsuit has been denied. The executive vice president of the Trump Organization Allen Garten said that “there’s no merit to these allegations whatsoever” and that the suits came forward “completely out of a financial motivation.” Garten points to a “98 percent approval rating,” but many claimants have argued they felt pressured to fill out good ratings, with some claiming they were given the survey before the program began.

There are some participants who say that the Trump University experience was beneficial for them, including one customer who paid for the Gold Elite Package, who claims that calling the education helpful “would be an understatement.” This is in stark contrast to one of the claimants in the lawsuit saying that after her $35,000 payment she was unable to reach any of the instructors for further tutelage.

As Donald J. Trump continues to totally dominate in the polls, in the primaries, and in delegates, his opponents are scrambling to cut down his support. The scandal of Trump University may prove to be a useful tool for eroding Trump’s success, but so far, nothing seems to stick to the candidate.

Sean Simon

Sean Simon is an Editorial News Senior Fellow at Law Street, and a senior at The George Washington University, studying Communications and Psychology. In his spare time, he loves exploring D.C. restaurants, solving crossword puzzles, and watching sad foreign films. Contact Sean at SSimon@LawStreetMedia.com.

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