Trump University: Students Fight Back With Lawsuits

Thousands of former students sued Trump University, a real estate seminar business owned and operated by The Trump Organization. The students, who paid up to $35,000 for the seminars, accused the company of fraud, false advertising, and aggressive sales tactics. They claimed they were lured by false promises that they would learn Trump's investing secrets from his hand-picked instructors. In total, three lawsuits were filed against Trump University and Trump himself, with the plaintiffs seeking refunds and damages. In 2017, a judge approved a $25 million settlement, allowing former students to receive refunds of up to 90% of the money they spent on courses.

Students claimed they were lured by false promises that they would learn Trump's investing secrets

Trump University, also known as the Trump Wealth Institute and Trump Entrepreneur Initiative LLC, was an American company that ran a real estate training program from 2005 to 2010. It was owned and operated by The Trump Organization. Despite its name, the organization was not an accredited university or college. It conducted three- and five-day seminars, often called "retreats", and used high-pressure tactics to sell them to its customers.

The students of Trump University, who paid as much as $35,000 for the seminars, claimed they were lured by false promises that they would learn Trump's investing "secrets" from his hand-picked instructors. In reality, Trump admitted that he did not personally select the instructors, and the claim that they were "hand-picked" was described by his lawyers as sales "puffery".

In 2011, the company became the subject of an inquiry by the New York Attorney General's office for illegal business practices, which resulted in a lawsuit filed in August 2013. The lawsuit alleged that Trump University defrauded its students by using misleading marketing practices and engaging in aggressive sales tactics.

In addition to the lawsuit filed by the New York Attorney General, there were two class-action lawsuits filed in federal court. One of these was brought by Tarla Makaeff, who paid nearly $60,000 to Trump University in 2008. Makaeff sought refunds for herself and other former clients, as well as punitive damages for breach of contract, fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and bad faith. The other class-action lawsuit was filed by California businessman Art Cohen, who accused Trump of misrepresenting Trump University "to make tens of millions of dollars" while actually delivering "neither Donald Trump nor a university".

In total, there were three lawsuits relating to Trump University: the two class-action suits in California and the case brought by the New York Attorney General. All of these cases were settled in November 2016 for a total of $25 million.

Students paid up to $35,000 for the seminars

Students paid up to $35,000 for seminars at Trump University, which was owned and operated by The Trump Organization. The company ran a real estate training program from 2005 to 2010 and was founded by Donald Trump, Michael Sexton, and Jonathan Spitalny.

Trump University was not an accredited university or college. It conducted three- and five-day seminars, often called "retreats," and used high-pressure tactics to sell them to customers. The seminars were held in rented spaces such as hotel ballrooms, where students were urged to sign up for additional classes. These classes ranged from $1,495 seminars to a $35,000 "Gold Elite" program.

About 6,000 tickets were sold for a $1,500 3-day course, and 1,000 tickets were sold for silver, gold, or elite mentored courses ranging from $10,000 to $35,000. The operation used similar tactics to predatory colleges, preying on vulnerable populations and implying that the school offered a fast track to financial security.

Trump University students who paid up to $35,000 for the seminars claimed they were lured by false promises. They believed they would learn Trump's investing "secrets" from his hand-picked instructors. However, Trump later admitted that he did not personally select the instructors, and former students alleged that they were pressured to give favorable reviews.

The high prices for the seminars were justified to students as a way to ensure they took personal responsibility for their learning. Despite the high costs, many students did not make any profits and instead struggled under debt after maxing out their credit cards to pay for the courses.

Trump University was not an accredited university or college

Despite its name, Trump University was not an accredited university or college. It was an American company that ran a real estate training program from 2005 to 2010. The company was owned and operated by The Trump Organization and was founded by Donald Trump and his associates Michael Sexton and Jonathan Spitalny.

Trump University conducted three- and five-day seminars, often called "retreats," and used high-pressure tactics to sell them to customers. It did not offer college credit, grant degrees, or grade its students. The instruction primarily focused on real estate investing, with Trump claiming in advertisements that he could "turn anyone into a successful real estate investor."

The company was the subject of multiple investigations, lawsuits, and student complaints, which led to its cessation of operations in 2011. Three lawsuits were filed, asserting that Trump University engaged in illegal business practices, including false claims and racketeering. Two were federal class actions, and one was filed in New York State court.

In 2005, the New York State Department of Education sent Trump, Sexton, and Trump University a letter stating that they were violating state law by using the word "university" when Trump University was not chartered as one and lacked the required license to offer live instruction or training. Despite this, Trump University continued to operate and was the subject of a $40 million civil suit filed by the State of New York in 2013.

Trump University was also the subject of two class actions in federal court, with allegations centering on misleading marketing practices and aggressive sales tactics. The lawsuits resulted in a $25 million settlement, approved by a U.S. judge, to resolve the class-action claims of fraud against Trump and his real estate seminars.

The settlement included $21 million for the participants in the class actions, $3 million for New Yorkers not covered by the class actions, and a penalty of up to $1 million assessed by the state of New York for operating an unlicensed university. The settlement did not include an admission of wrongdoing by Trump, who had previously stated he would never settle.

Trump University used misleading marketing practices and aggressive sales tactics

Trump University, also known as the Trump Wealth Institute and Trump Entrepreneur Initiative LLC, was an American company that ran a real estate training program from 2005 to 2010. It was owned and operated by The Trump Organization and founded by Donald Trump, who was U.S. president from 2017 to 2021 and elected again in 2024, and his associates Michael Sexton and Jonathan Spitalny.

Despite its name, the organization was not an accredited university or college. It conducted three- and five-day seminars, often called "retreats," and used high-pressure, misleading marketing practices and aggressive sales tactics to sell them to its customers. It did not confer college credit, grant degrees, or grade its students.

Trump University's misleading marketing practices and aggressive sales tactics were exposed in 2011 when the company became the subject of an inquiry by the New York Attorney General's office for illegal business practices, resulting in a lawsuit filed in August 2013. The investigation revealed that Trump University used deceptive marketing to lure customers, claiming that they would learn Trump's investing "secrets" from his hand-picked instructors.

Trump University's aggressive sales tactics were further outlined in court documents released during a class-action lawsuit. These documents included "playbooks" that instructed employees on how to push students to sign up for expensive courses, with scripts on how to overcome objections and close the sale. The "playbooks" also advised staff on how to identify students with the most liquid assets, as well as how to dress and run events.

In addition to the New York lawsuit, Trump University was also the subject of two class-action lawsuits in federal court, which centred on allegations of misleading marketing practices and aggressive sales tactics. Despite repeatedly denying the claims and insisting he would not settle, Trump settled all three lawsuits in November 2016 for a total of $25 million after being elected president.

Trump University was the defendant in three different lawsuits

The first lawsuit was a federal class-action suit alleging consumer violations. The second was a federal class-action racketeering case. The third was a New York state civil suit brought by the New York Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman. All three lawsuits were settled in November 2016, for a total of $25 million.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuits alleged that they were lured by false promises that they would learn Trump's investing "secrets" from his "hand-picked" instructors. They claimed that they were pushed into enrolling in real estate and business programs through high-pressure sales tactics and scammed out of thousands of dollars.

Trump University, which operated from 2005 to 2010, was not an accredited university or college. Despite this, it charged high prices for its seminars and programs, with some students paying up to $35,000. The company offered courses in real estate, asset management, entrepreneurship, and wealth creation.

The settlement of the three lawsuits allowed approximately 7,000 former Trump University students to receive refunds of up to 90% of the money they spent on courses.

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