NY Attorney General’s Suit Regarding Trump University
51. Former president Michael Sexton admitted in his sworn subpoenaed testimony that “[t]here wasn’t anything sophisticated about” the three-day seminar and that instead it was “really an opportunity for an individual to make the decision[:] is real estate investing something that I am actually going to pursu[?]” rather than actually teaching them what they needed to know to get started.
.. 59. As students later discovered, these claims were untrue. Rather than being photographed with Donald Trump, they were offered the chance to have photos taken with a life-size photo of Donald Trump.
.. 104. As noted above, Trump University speakers at three-day seminars urged students to call their credit card companies during a break in the sessions, requesting increases to their credit limits.
105. Speakers often claimed that the reason for this request was to obtain additional capital for real estate transactions and property improvements for “flipping” houses and apartments, but in reality the purpose was so that students could use the additional credit to purchase expensive Trump Elite programs.
106. Trump University even provided handouts with scripted talking points for students to use in their phone calls with credit card companies, explicitly encouraging people to falsify their current income, “add[ing] projected income from corporate entities that had not been created, with the script telling students: “If they ask you to prove income, inform them that it will be too much trouble to put all the paperwork together.”
.. 119. Trump University was also aware that some of its instructors and mentors who had been investing in real estate had filed for Chapter 7 bankrupcy protection shortly before coming to work at Trump University, belying any claims of success as real estate investors.
.. 146. Sexton was President of Trump University from its inception in 2004 until late in 2010. He was one of the four members of Trump University LLC, with a 4.5 equity interest. He was also involved in the creation of Trump University, including bringing the idea to Trump in 2004 and meeting with him and Trump Organization employees to discuss its formation and the terms of the Trump University LLC agreement.
.. 149. Trump Organization also directed and controlled the acts and practices of Trump University and had knowledge of its fraudulent and illegal conduct.
150. Indeed Trump University LLC corporate form was regularly ignored. There were never any meetings of the members, no votes ever taken, and no minutes of meetings ever prepared.
151. Major corporate decisions were routinely made for Trump University LLC by individuals at Trump Organization who were not officers, directors, or employees of the company or its members, such as the decision to change Trump University’s business model in 2005, or to wind down its operations in 2010 due to poor revenue performance.