Trump University Fraud Lawsuits Intensify During Campaign

What Was Trump University

Trump University operated from 2005 to 2010 as a series of real estate training courses that promised to teach students Donald Trump’s personal secrets of success. Despite its name, it was not an accredited university and did not grant degrees. The New York State Education Department warned Trump in 2005 that using the word “university” was illegal without proper accreditation, but the operation continued under that name for years.

Students paid between $1,500 for introductory seminars and up to $35,000 for the “Gold Elite” mentorship package. Marketing materials promised that instructors were “hand-picked” by Trump himself. Internal documents later revealed that Trump had no role in selecting instructors, many of whom had no significant real estate experience.

The Lawsuits

By 2016, Trump faced three active lawsuits related to Trump University. Two were class-action suits filed in federal court in San Diego, and one was a civil suit brought by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. The New York suit accused Trump of running an unlicensed educational institution and defrauding more than 5,000 students out of approximately $40 million.

Unsealed court documents painted a damaging picture. Internal playbooks instructed sales staff to use high-pressure tactics on prospective students, including exploiting their financial vulnerabilities. One document instructed staff to probe how much available credit students had on their credit cards. Former employees testified that the program was essentially a bait-and-switch operation designed to upsell students to increasingly expensive tiers.

Campaign Impact and Settlement

Trump vehemently defended Trump University throughout the campaign, insisting the program had high satisfaction ratings and calling the lawsuits politically motivated. His attacks on the presiding judge, Gonzalo Curiel, became a separate controversy. Trump repeatedly insisted he would never settle the cases.

However, just ten days after winning the 2016 presidential election, Trump agreed to pay $25 million to settle all three lawsuits without admitting wrongdoing. The settlement provided refunds to former students who had been defrauded. The reversal — settling cases he had sworn to fight — received relatively little attention amid the tumult of the presidential transition.