In testimony unsealed on Tuesday, former employees of the defunct Trump University call the school a “financial scheme” that preyed on cash-strapped students.
Federal Judge Gonzalo Curiel ordered the release of the sealed documents on Friday, in response to a motion filed by the Washington Post. According to the testimony, employees were instructed to engage in questionable sales tactics, like encouraging prospective students to open as many credit cards as possible to pay for classes.
A former sales manager testified that he was criticized for not pressuring a financially struggling couple to sign up for a $35,000 real estate class, according to the New York Times.
“I believe that Trump University was a fraudulent scheme and that it preyed upon the elderly and uneducated to separate them from their money,” Schnackenberg said.
Some former students, however, testified that the school met their expectations and boosted their business acumen.
The documents are the latest development in a federal lawsuit lobbed against Trump University by former students. Trump started the school in 2005, advertising the university as a way to learn his strategies for business success. Last month, Curiel ruled that the trial for the California lawsuit would be held until after the Nov. 8 presidential election. A similar lawsuit is also making its ways through New York state’s highest court. [NYT] — Kathryn Brenzel