Lawsuit: Trump University Scammed Us

The Donald named in suit
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted May 5, 2011 2:30 PM CDT
Lawsuit: Trump University Scammed Us
Copies of 'How To Build Wealth,' which is a series of nine audio business courses created by Trump University, lie on display at a Barnes & Noble store January 10, 2005 in New York City.   (Getty Images)

Donald Trump has been named in a lawsuit claiming that his “Trump University” real estate course is a scam. The $1,500 course, which wasn’t accredited and offered no degree, promised to impart “insider” knowledge and give students the chance to be “my next apprentice.” But now a few of the people who took the course say it was essentially an “infomercial,” pushing them to spend $35,000 for the “Trump gold elite” course.

“I bought into it because of the Trump name,” one of these ex-students tells the San Francisco Chronicle. “I thought, ‘It’s got to be legit.’” Instead, the course taught techniques such as putting up “bandit” signs on telephone poles advertising homes for sale—which are illegal in her native Orange County. A Trump attorney called the allegations “completely ridiculous,” and says Trump stands behind the courses. “There wouldn’t even be a lawsuit if the Trump name weren’t attached to it,” he said. (More Donald Trump stories.)

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