President-elect Donald Trump on Friday agreed to pay $25 million in fines and restitution to settle three fraud lawsuits on behalf of the former customers of Trump University, the businessman’s now-defunct real estate seminar program.
Under the terms of the settlement, Trump will not admit fault, a common bargain in civil cases like this one.
“My office sued Donald Trump for swindling thousands of innocent Americans out of millions of dollars through a scheme known at Trump University,” Eric Schneiderman, New York’s attorney general, said in a statement Friday. “Donald Trump fought us every step of the way, filing baseless charges and fruitless appeals and refusing to settle for even modest amounts of compensation for the victims of his phony university. Today, that all changes. Today’s $25 million settlement agreement is a stunning reversal by Donald Trump and a major victory for the over 6,000 victims of his fraudulent university.”
The settlement covers two class-action lawsuits pending in California, as well as the civil case brought by Schneiderman. It also marks the end of a six-year legal battle that began when thousands of people across the country alleged that Trump University had defrauded them with false advertising and deceptive business practices. (our emphasis)"Swindling ... scheme... phony... fraudulent university." Words that should have stuck to this shitgibbon and been disqualifying for voters, but =mumble mumble= economic anxiety =mumble=mumble=.
Our bet is that he tries to use any excess campaign funds to pay all or part of the fine, or otherwise finagles to not pay out of pocket. That's just who he is.
Unfortunately, now we won't be treated to the spectacle of the shitgibbon- elect showing up in a California court on November 28 for a jury trial. Sad!
UPDATE I:
What's got more critical coverage, a fraud scheme that resulted in $25 million in fines or raising money for a charity that saves lives?— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) November 18, 2016
UPDATE II: John Cole points out that the media completely buried this story; in Saturday's
