In a surprising turn of events, Reuters reports that President-Elect Donald Trump’s defunct Trump University has agreed to settle fraud lawsuits in New York and California. The total settlement amount arrives at $25 million with $4 million of that being recovered by the New York Attorney General. This comes as a shock, as Trump’s attorneys recently asked for the trial to be delayed until after Inauguration Day.
Trump University was one of the president-elect’s many (failed) ventures, and he promised to share his success secrets to willing students for a large chunk of change. But students weren’t happy with the results and didn’t take too kindly to the school’s plagiarized textbooks. In 2013, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman brought a class-action lawsuit against Trump, and during campaign season, Trump said he had no plans on settling the issue and defended the university:
Trump University has a 98% approval rating. I could have settled but won't out of principle!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 29, 2016
Now that Trump’s agreed to the settlement, part of the agreement reportedly includes admitting no wrongdoing in the case.
On Friday, the day he reportedly hinted at settling, a federal judge was considering arguments to delay the trial till after Inauguration Day on January 20. His lawyer’s reasoning was that he was going to be too busy during his transition phase, and as reports have shown, his transition team is having a heck of a time at the moment. That Trump is actually settling speaks to his team’s interest in putting the past behind them.
New York Daily News reported Schneiderman originally sought $40 million from Trump for the more than 5,000 students who signed up for the university.
(Via New York Daily News & ABC News)