Trump University: $25 Million Fraud Settlement
Trump University swindled ~7,000 students out of up to $35,000 each with fake real estate courses. Trump paid $25 million to settle three fraud lawsuits. It wasn't even a real university.
Trump University was a non-accredited real estate training program that operated from 2005 to 2010, charging students up to $35,000 for courses promising to teach "Trump's secrets" of real estate success. Approximately 7,000 students enrolled.
Two class-action lawsuits and a civil suit by the New York Attorney General accused Trump of swindling students with misleading marketing, including claims that instructors were "hand-picked" by Trump (they weren't) and that the program was a real "university" (it was not accredited or licensed as an educational institution).
Trump agreed to pay $25 million to settle all three suits — $21 million to class-action participants, $3 million to additional New Yorkers, and a $1 million penalty. Students received approximately 90% of their costs back. Trump did not admit wrongdoing, but the settlement spoke for itself.
The fraud occurred before Trump's presidency, but it established a pattern: use the Trump name to extract money from people who trusted it, deliver nothing of value, and settle when caught.