Trump U Sued for Fraud, $40M

NY AG claims Donald's school failed to deliver on overpriced education
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 25, 2013 11:13 AM CDT
Trump U Sued for Fraud, $40M
In a March 15, 2013 file photo, Donald Trump, who is being sued by New York's attorney general for $40 million over his Trump University.   (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

Trump University just took a hit from the School of Hard Knocks: New York's attorney general yesterday sued the Donald and his eponymous school for a hefty $40 million for defrauding students. "Trading on his celebrity status, Mr. Trump personally appeared in advertisements making false promises to convince people to spend tens of thousands of dollars they couldn't afford for lessons they never got," said Eric Schneiderman in a statement that accuses Trump of a "bait and switch."

Trump wasted no time in swinging back, blasting the suit as politically motivated (Schneiderman is a Democrat; Trump is decidedly not) and Schneiderman himself as a "lightweight" who is "trying to extort me with a civil law suit." Team Donald says that 98% of students rate Trump University as "excellent," adds the AP. "The attorney general has been angry because he felt that Mr. Trump should have done much more for him in terms of fundraising," says a lawyer for Trump. "This entire investigation is politically motivated and it is a tremendous waste of taxpayers' money." It's not the first lawsuit; CNN notes that students filed a class-action lawsuit against the school in 2010, accusing it of being "like an infomercial" that doesn't deliver on its guarantees of success. (More Donald Trump stories.)

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