Donald Trump talks about his business genius every time he opens his mouth. No one loves Trump more than Trump. He claims to be the greatest business person ever to live, and will lead the United States with the same integrity and business acumen.
Of course, Donald Trump businesses have declared bankruptcy four times; but worse than that, he doesn’t seem to hesitate to become involved in a scheme to defraud people out of their money, and especially those who least can afford it. Trump University is just one such scheme.
Trump University began in 2004. In 2007 it started offering live events around the country. “If you don’t learn from the people that we’re going to be putting forward, and these are all people who are handpicked by me,” Trump said in the commercial. However, a CBS News investigation has discovered that three of those instructors had previously filed for bankruptcy. Others were motivational speakers paid on commission to sell additional Trump training. For example, professors would offer a “one-year apprenticeship” for $1,500. The “apprenticeship” was actually a three-day seminar. Once a student paid for the seminar, professors would upsell them again on the “mentorship” program for $10,000. These levels went up to $35,000 for the “Gold Elite” program.
In an internal memo in 2010 Trump employees acknowledged the mentorship program was too difficult for the company to “fulfill” and “expectations are not always realistically set or consistently met.” The school stopped accepting students and began winding down in the summer of 2010.
Trump is now involved in two class action lawsuits related to his failed Trump University, which in 2013 the New York Attorney General called “a scam.”
For more on this story, click CBS News For some, “big time net loss” after attending Trump University.
