and High-Pressure Sales Tactics
Sales manager Ronald Schnackenberg testified that Trump University "was a fraudulent scheme" that pressured financially-strapped people to sign up for $35,000 real estate seminars. Students were told they would learn how to buy real estate cheaply in a declining market and resell properties quickly for big profits.
He said the company "preyed upon the elderly and the uneducated to separate them from their money."
Former employees of the company, founded by Trump in 2005 and closed in 2010, said they were told to pressure potential customers into opening charge accounts to pay for the classes. One major selling point was that Trump hand-picked the instructors and would be actively involved in their education. Neither was true. Employees said his involvement was limited to approving ads and marketing materials to promote Trump University.
The internal documents were ordered released by the judge overseeing the class action lawsuit filed by Trump University students in California. Trump is scheduled to testify in that suit, slated to start shortly after the election.
New York Times
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