June 24, 2016

The true cost of Trump University


Pittsburgh Post Gazette

Josh Shapiro is a Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania attorney general

Josh Shapiro - Recently unsealed court documents from an ongoing lawsuit against Trump University revealed new details about the alleged fraudulent practices of the unaccredited, for-profit “university” founded by Donald Trump. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who has filed a $40 million lawsuit alleging unfair and deceptive practices by Trump and his associates, summarized the case by saying, “It’s straight-up fraud.”

The records indicate that Trump University preyed on people looking for hope, opportunity and new careers in the midst of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. A court will determine Mr. Trump’s responsibility, but what this case shows is a fact of life we know too well: Everyday folks will be taken advantage of by powerful interests when no one is looking and no one holds them accountable.

One plaintiff is a Pittsburgh woman named Melissa Norris, who spent $17,000 for a Trump University seminar that included a coach who was supposed to help her find real-estate investments. This “coach” turned out to be a convicted criminal and the investment “opportunity” he directed her to turned out to be a Ponzi scheme.

When Ms. Norris lost a devastating $230,000, she had no way to recoup her loss. With cases pending across the country, there are likely many men and women like Ms. Norris who have been harmed.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

How about the true cost of the 2009 Paraguayan coup, 2011 Honduran military coup, the 'liberal intervention' in Libya, and the five year destabilization efforts in Syria. If that's not quite enough, let's stir in the Ukraine and Haiti for good measure. All of these carry the unmistakable imprimatur of the Unite States, in particular policy sanctioned by the US State Department as guided by then Secretary Clinton.
That's an awful lot of blood, misery, and heartache to account for.
A fable:
A scorpion and a frog meet on the bank of a stream and the
scorpion asks the frog to carry him across on its back. The
frog asks, "How do I know you won't sting me?" The scorpion
says, "Because if I do, I will die too."

The frog is satisfied, and they set out, but in midstream,
the scorpion stings the frog. The frog feels the onset of
paralysis and starts to sink, knowing they both will drown,
but has just enough time to gasp "Why?"

Replies the scorpion: "Its my nature..."