The state Attorney General’s $40 million lawsuit against Donald Trump’s now-defunct Trump University is making its way to The Highest Court in New York.
The GOP presidential frontrunner was granted the right to argue his case before the state’s Court of Appeals on Tuesday, though proceedings likely won’t take place until after the November election.
State AG Eric Schneiderman brought the fraud suit against Trump in 2013 and is claiming Trump University – later known as the Trump Entrepreneur Initiative – fraudulently deceived its students, who paid up to $35,000 in tuition, into believing they would be taught by handpicked real estate and business experts, according to the New York Post.
The matter has come up during the course of Trump’s remarkable march to the GOP nomination this year, with former Republican candidate Marco Rubio referring to the “fake” university during a debate.
Schneiderman appears not to be amused by Trump’s efforts in “using every legal option to avoid standing trial for operating a sham for-profit university,” he said in a statement.
“As our lawsuit makes clear, Mr. Trump’s phony university defrauded thousands of students through an illicit scheme that cost them millions of dollars,” Schneiderman added.
Trump’s attorney, Alan Garten, fired back — called the AG’s comments “completely unprofessional for an elected official.” [NYP] – Rey Mashayekhi