5/18/2016

Trump, His Fake University, and the (Former) Plaintiff

Yeah, yeah, Megyn Kelly blew Donald Trump and didn't neglect his balls, blah, blah, blah, as if that was going to go any differently.

Instead, check out some shit from one of the lawsuits Trump is facing over Trump University, the bullshit entity that promised participants practical advice in making a fortune from real estate but actually had a mission of fleecing the rubes and getting them to participate in the greater glorification of His Trumpness (or, as a U.S. District Court put it in 2015, "a private, for profit entity offering real estate seminars and purporting to teach Mr. Trump's '[i]nsider success secrets'"). This is from a 2013 reversal of a denial of a motion that something or other that allows the lawsuit to go forward in the case of Tarla Makaeff et al v. Trump University and Donald J. Trump:

"In August 2008, Tarla Makaeff attended Trump University's three-day 'Fast Track to Foreclosure Workshop' at a cost of approximately $1,495, which Makaeff says she split with a friend. Makaeff describes the seminars as slick productions featuring carefully choreographed presentations, speakers blaring 'For the Love of Money,' the theme song from Trump's hit reality television series The Apprentice, and Trump University representatives exhorting customers to raise their credit card limits, ostensibly to enable "real estate transactions," but actually to facilitate the purchase of the $34,995 'Trump Gold Elite Program.'

"Apparently persuaded, Makaeff paid $34,995 to enroll in the Gold Elite Program, which entitled her to four three-day 'advanced training workshops,'  a three-day 'mentoring session in the field,' and 'training publications, software, and other materials.' Makaeff's satisfaction with the program was short-lived. In April 2009, after completing five more programs and workshops, and after seven months of the Gold Elite Program, she wrote an email to Trump University complaining that she was in a 'precarious financial position' and that she 'did not receive the value that I thought I would for such a large expenditure.' Makaeff had earlier spoken by phone with a Trump University representative who had told her that she was ineligible for a refund of the cost of the program. In response to Makaeff's email, Trump University offered more free 'mentoring services,' which Makaeff accepted.

"By Fall 2009, however, the relationship between Makaeff and Trump University had gone irretrievably south. Makaeff wrote to her bank and the Better Business Bureau, contacted government agencies, and posted on Internet message boards about her dispute with Trump University. Makaeff requested a refund of $5,100 from her bank for services charged for Trump University programs. In the letter to the Better Business Bureau, Makaeff requested a refund of her payments for services that she did not receive."

So Makaeff became the lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against Trump and his "university," and Trump countersued for defamation because she said shit that sucked was suck-ass shit. One of Trump's lawyer's pieces of evidence is that, early in the scam, Makaeff praised TU. However, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals called bullshit on that about as clearly as possible: "[I]t is plausible that Makaeff sincerely believed in Trump University's offerings when she submitted her written and videotaped testimonials. The gist of Makaeff's complaint about Trump University is that it constitutes an elaborate scam. As the recent Ponzi-scheme scandals involving onetime financial luminaries like Bernard Maou doff and Allen Stanford demonstrate, victims of con artists often sing the praises of their victimizers until the moment they realize they have been fleeced."

And there you have it. A U.S. court pretty much just implied that Donald Trump is a Madoff-level con artist.

This is not to mention that Trump's a bully who has no compunction about using thuggish methods to wreck anyone who crosses him. 'Cause, see, Makaeff just dropped out of the case because of an ongoing pattern of harassment by Trump, including a possible threat to ruin her financially. Of course, there were tweets, and Trump even attacked her at a rally in February, saying, "She is a horrible, horrible witness." He also said, "Her name is Tarloff or something." What a throbbing, inflamed asshole he is. The stress got to be too much, so Makaeff decided to walk away, which a judge allowed in April.

So whenever Trump tells you about Hillary Clinton facing indictment over her email server (she's not), remember that Trump will likely be fighting these Trump University cases for the next few years, likely needing to testify under oath about them. Wouldn't that be a lovely way to spend his possible first term?