{"id":269808,"date":"2016-11-19T09:57:08","date_gmt":"2016-11-19T09:57:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=269808"},"modified":"2016-11-19T09:57:08","modified_gmt":"2016-11-19T09:57:08","slug":"trump-settles-25m-university-fraud-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2016\/11\/trump-settles-25m-university-fraud-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump settles $25m university fraud case"},"content":{"rendered":"
Donald Trump has settled three Trump University lawsuits for $25m (\u00a320m), the New York Attorney General has said.<\/p>\n
The US president-elect was being sued by former students who paid $35,000 (\u00a328,000) for real estate “secrets” from his “hand-picked” instructors.<\/p>\n
Mr Trump had repeatedly said he would not settle the class-action lawsuits.<\/p>\n
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said the settlement was a “stunning reversal” by Mr Trump and a “major victory” for victims.<\/p>\n
But Mr Trump’s lawyer Daniel Petrocelli said his client was pleased with the outcome, saying “he was willing to sacrifice his personal interests, put this behind him, and move forward”.<\/p>\n
The businessman faced three fraud lawsuits – which alleged the school misled students and failed to deliver on its promises – in California and New York.<\/p>\n
A trial in one of the cases had been due to begin in San Diego on 28 November, although Mr Trump’s lawyers had attempted to delay the case.<\/p>\n
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement: “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.<\/p>\n
“The victims of Trump University have waited years for today’s result and I am pleased that their patience – and persistence – will be rewarded by this $25 million settlement.”<\/p>\n
Mr Schneiderman, who Mr Trump has attacked as a “lightweight”, had sought a $40m payout from Mr Trump over the university, which closed in 2010.<\/p>\n
He called Trump University a “fraud from beginning to end” in July, adding that the organisation used “false promises to prey on desperate people”.<\/p>\n
US District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is presiding over the two California cases, had been urging both sides to settle out of court.<\/p>\n
Analysis: Laura Bicker, BBC News, Washington<\/p>\n
The settlement may be costly but it will save the President-elect from a potentially embarrassing trial.<\/p>\n
Donald Trump had vowed to keep fighting this case and his attorneys said they had no doubt he would have won in court, but they added that a resolution allows Mr Trump to devote his full attention to the important issues facing the nation.<\/p>\n
Settling though could backfire on Mr Trump as he is facing dozens of lawsuits.<\/p>\n
Plaintiffs may smell blood and think he is eager to settle to avoid court cases while president.<\/p>\n
In June, Mr Trump said: “I will win the Trump University case. I already am, as far as I’m concerned.<\/p>\n
“I could settle that case. I could have settled that case. I just choose not to.”<\/p>\n
Trump University promised students the opportunity to learn from “hand-picked” teachers, that actually were not chosen by Mr Trump himself.<\/p>\n
Mr Schneiderman alleged that the closest students ever got to the real estate mogul was having their photo taken beside a cardboard cutout of him. He also said that Mr Trump personally pocketed about $5m (\u00a34m) in the “scheme”.<\/p>\n
Administration takes shape<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has named more conservative hardliners for key posts, with Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions nominated as attorney general, the country’s top law enforcement office.<\/p>\n
Mr Sessions was rejected from becoming a federal judge in 1986 because of alleged racist remarks.<\/p>\n
In a statement, Mr Trump called Mr Sessions a “world class legal mind”.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mike Pompeo will be CIA director and retired Lt Gen Michael Flynn has been made national security adviser. Both men have been vocal critics of the Obama administration.<\/p>\n