President Donald Trump and his children made millions as they swindled working-class, aspiring entrepreneurs with the promise of lucrative business deals, according to a new lawsuit.
The class action lawsuit filed Monday alleges there was a simple goal behind the complex con – enrichment “by systematically defrauding economically marginalized people looking to invest in their educations, start their own business, and pursue the American Dream.”
Trump recruited prospective investors by telling them about a “great opportunity” at ACN, a multi-level marketing company, the lawsuit states. Trump told the would-be investors that he’d done his own research and wasn’t endorsing the company for any money, court papers say.
“Not a word of this was true,” said the suit, which claims Trump and his children secretly received millions from 2005 to 2015 to back ACN. Trump knew it would be a money-losing deal for many of the inexperienced investors signing on, the suit claimed.
The suit said the four unidentified plaintiffs were wooed into the investments – including a $499 registration fee — as they saw Trump on promotional videos. None of them made money.
The Manhattan federal lawsuit names Trump as a defendant, along with his children, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump, and the Trump Corporation. Legal claims include false advertising, fraud and negligent misrepresentation. The Trumps are also being sued for their connection to two other business ventures.
A lawyer for the Trump organization, Alan Garten, told the New York Times the allegations were old, baseless and the suit — coming days before midterm elections — was politically motivated.
ACN said in a statement that the company had a “business relationship” with Trump that ended by mutual agreement when he ran for president. “As is the case with any vendor, company or individual we may have a business relationship with, their views are not necessarily reflective of ACN’s views or those of its co-founders,” the statement said.
In November 2016, Trump agreed to a $25 million to settle cases alleging deceptive practices at Trump University, which was supposed to teach students the secrets to Trump’s real estate savvy.
Trump settled without admitting liability.
The New York State Attorney General’s office is also suing to dissolve the Trump Foundation, a charity. Trump wrongly used the charity as a piggy bank to help his business dealings and 2016 presidential campaign. Trump is fighting the pending case in Manhattan Supreme Court.
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