Rubio Campaign Press Release - Trump University is an Absolute Scam. Get the Facts About Pending Litigation.

Trump Has Been Found Liable For Misrepresenting The Business & Is Being Sued For Damages 

The Facts:

Trump University was "mired in fraud and deception."

"Trump is facing three separate lawsuits — two class action suits filed in California and one filed by New York's attorney general — which argue the program that took in an estimated $40 million, but was mired in fraud and deception. … 'We started looking at Trump University and discovered that it was a classic bait-and-switch scheme. It was a scam, starting with the fact that it was not a university,' New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman told CNN's New Day after filing suit in 2013." (CNN, 9/30/15)

More than 100 victims of Trump's "nationwide scam" have come forward.

"More than 100 new people have come forward to complain that Donald Trump's now-defunct "university" was a ripoff, the Daily News has learned. They come from New York and 25 other states and say they were wrongly promised they could get rich quick if they enrolled in an expensive mentoring program that investigators say was a sham, a source familiar with Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's investigation said. Schneiderman filed a $40 million lawsuit against Trump in Manhattan state Supreme Court in August — accusing the mega-rich developer-turned-reality TV star of defrauding more than 5,000 people nationwide through his Trump University." (New York Daily News, 11/1/13)

"People who paid five figures to attend these seminars are suing…"

"In a promotional video, Trump promised to handpick 'professors and adjunct professors.' People who paid five figures to attend these seminars are suing, claiming that Trump didn't really handpick any instructors and that none of his real estate secrets were imparted." (Washington Examiner, 2/25/16)

"It's hard to see Trump University as anything but a scam."

"Trump is on the witness list for this case, meaning he will have to defend himself in court. The trial could begin in May, at the end of the GOP nominating process. Even if he's not legally liable — and so far he hasn't been found to have committed any fraud — it's hard to see Trump University as anything but a scam. Everyone who paid thousands or tens of thousands of dollars to attend this university is a potential Trump victim." (Washington Examiner, 2/25/16)

Trump personally made $5 million off of Trump University.

"However, documents and testimony in the court file indicate that Trump collected approximately $5 million in profit in a series of wire transfers and checks written to him personally by the university—and signed on behalf of the university by Trump." (Time, 11/5/15)

In 2010, the New York Education Department demanded that Trump stop using the word "university."

"In a strongly worded letter obtained by the Daily News, the state Education Department slammed the tycoon for calling the cyber-school a university and demanded he stop using the term. Use of the word 'university' by your corporation is misleading and violates New York Education Law and the Rules of the Board of Regents," wrote Deputy Commissioner for Higher Education Joseph Frey." (The New York Daily News, 4/15/10)

Trump University was not accredited nor did it give out degrees.

"It was called Trump University, even though it didn't actually give out degrees and wasn't accredited." (The Washington Post, 8/15/15)

Veterans, seniors, and unemployed Americans in at least 22 states have filed a complaint against Trump University.

"Trump's business education company and an affiliate, Trump Institute, have been deluged by complaints from more than 150 students in at least 22 states claiming they've been cheated out of tens of thousands of dollars, the Daily News found. Those complaining include dozens of retirees, veterans, laid-off workers and seniors living on fixed incomes, records show." (New York Daily News, 05/30/10)

In 2011, the New York Attorney General's office investigated illegal business practices surrounding Donald Trump and Trump University.

"The New York State attorney general's office is investigating whether a for-profit school founded by Donald J. Trump, which charges students up to $35,000 a course, has engaged in illegal business practices, according to people briefed on the inquiry. The investigation was prompted by about a dozen complaints concerning the Trump school that the attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, has found to be "credible" and "serious," these people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was not yet public." (The New York Times, 05/09/11)

In 2014, a New York judge found Trump personally liable for operating a for-profit school without the required license.

"Donald Trump is personally liable for operating a for-profit investment school without the required license, a New York judge ruled in a lawsuit brought by the New York Attorney General against the real estate entrepreneur. New York state Supreme Court Justice Cynthia S. Kern said he was notified by the state in 2005 that his Trump Entrepreneur Initiative — known as Trump University until 2010 — was in violation of state education law." (Reuters, 10/16/14)

Judge Kern ruled that it was undisputed that Trump never complied with the licensing requirements.

'It is undisputed that Mr. Trump never complied with the licensing requirements,' Kern wrote in a decision made public on Wednesday." (Reuters, 10/16/14)

In 2016, The New York appeals court just ruled that the pending lawsuit against Trump can continue.

"A New York appeals court decidedon Tuesday that a lawsuit brought by the state attorney general claiming that Donald J. Trump's defunct for-profit school defrauded consumers can go forward. The attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, filed the lawsuit in 2013 asserting that Trump University, later known as the Trump Entrepreneur Initiative, misrepresented itself and bilked students individually of thousands of dollars and collectively of $40 million." (The New York Times, 03/01/16)