Donald Trump settles fraud lawsuits for $25m

New York[United States], Nov. 19 (ANI): Fraud lawsuits relating to Trump University has been settled by president-elect Donald Trump for 25 million dollars. The three lawsuits were settled by Trump's lawyers on Friday, which has now averted the prospect of the president-elect testifying in a courtroom showdown which had threatened to reveal more troubling details about the now defunct real estate course, reports The Guardian. Claiming vindication and victory for those "swindled" by the course, New York's attorney general, Eric Schneiderman said in a statement, "Donald Trump fought us every step of the way, filing baseless charges and fruitless appeals and refusing to settle for even modest amounts of compensation for the victims of his phony university," Schneiderman said in a statement. "Today, that all changes. Today's $25m settlement agreement is a stunning reversal by Donald Trump and a major victory for the over 6,000 victims of his fraudulent university," he added. Schneiderman said that compensation would be received by every victim and president-elect will pay up to $1m in penalties to the state of New York for violating state education law. "The victims of Trump University have waited years for today's result and I am pleased that their patience - and persistence - will be rewarded by this $25m settlement," he said. Former students who filed had the suit said that they were lured by false promises to pay up to $35,000 to learn Trump's real estate investing "secrets" from his "hand-picked" instructors. However, the allegations were denied by Trump as saying that he relied on others to manage the business. The settlement was negotiated by president-elect's lawyers with Schneiderman, in New York, and law firms that brought two separate class action lawsuits concerning Trump University in California. Those who had been involved in the California suits will be compensated with some 21 million dollars of the 25 million dollars and some 3 million dollars will go to those in New York not covered by the California lawsuits. (ANI)