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Donald Trump has been sued by New York’s Attorney General Eric Schneiderman for $40 million, claiming the real estate mogul helped run a phony “Trump University” that falsely promised to make students rich.
Instead, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said that the university steered them into expensive and mostly useless seminars, and even failed to deliver promised apprenticeships.
After the lawsuit was filed on Saturday, Doald Trump shot back that it is false and politically motivated.
Eric Schneiderman says many of the 5,000 students who paid up to $35,000 thought they would at least meet Trump but instead all they got was their picture taken in front of a life-size picture of him.
“Trump University engaged in deception at every stage of consumers’ advancement through costly programs and caused real financial harm,” Eric Schneiderman said.
“Trump University, with Donald Trump’s knowledge and participation, relied on Trump’s name recognition and celebrity status to take advantage of consumers who believed in the Trump brand.”
State Education Department officials told Donald Trump to change the name of his enterprise years ago, saying it lacked a license and didn’t meet the legal definitions of a university.
In 2011 it was renamed the “Trump Entrepreneur Institute”, but it has since been dogged by complaints from consumers and a few civil lawsuits claiming it didn’t fulfill its advertised claims.
New York’s Attorney General Eric Schneiderman claims Donald Trump helped run a phony Trump University that falsely promised to make students rich
Eric Schneiderman’s lawsuit covers complaints dating to 2005 through 2011 and it claims that students paid between $1,495 and $35,000 to learn from the mogul.
He said the three-day seminars failed to teach consumers everything they needed to know about real estate, as the “university” had promised. The Trump University manual tells instructors not to let consumers “think three days will be enough to make them successful”, Eric Schneiderman said.
At the seminars, consumers were told about “Trump Elite” mentorships that cost $10,000 to $35,000 in which students were promised individual instruction until they made their first deal.
Eric Schneiderman said participants were urged to extend the limit on their credit cards for real estate deals, but then used the credit to pay for the Trump Elite programs.
The attorney general said the program also failed to promptly cancel memberships as promised.
The lawsuit added that many of students were unable to land even one real estate deal and were left far worse off than before the lessons, facing thousands of dollars in debt.
But Donld Trump’s attorney accused Eric Schneiderman of trying to extort campaign contributions from the real estate mogul through his investigation.
Attorney Michael D. Cohen told The Associated Press on Saturday that Eric Schneiderman’s lawsuit was filled with falsehoods. He insisted that Donald Trump and his university never defrauded anyone.
“The attorney general has been angry because he felt that Mr. Trump and his various companies should have done much more for him in terms of fundraising,” Michael D. Cohen said.
“This entire investigation is politically motivated and it is a tremendous waste of taxpayers’ money.”
State Board of Elections records show Donald Trump has spent more than $136,000 on New York campaigns since 2010.
He contributed $12,500 to Schneiderman in October 2010, when Eric Schneiderman was running for attorney general, records show.
An outspoken conservative, Donald Trump himself flirted with a presidential run last year.
“Donald Trump will not sit back and be extorted by anyone, including the attorney general,” Michael D. Cohen said.
Eric Schneiderman is suing the program, Donald Trump as the university chairman, and the former president of the university in a case to be handled in state Supreme Court in Manhattan.
He accuses them of engaging in persistent fraud, illegal and deceptive conduct and violating federal consumer protection law. The $40 million he seeks is mostly to pay restitution to consumers.
He dismissed Donald Trump’s claim of a political motive.
“The fact that he’s still brave enough to follow the investigation wherever it may lead speaks to Mr. Schneiderman’s character,” Eric Schneiderman spokesman Andrew Friedman told AP.
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Simon Cowell could be forced to reveal details of his personal finances in Lauren Silverman’s divorce battle, it has emerged today.
Simon Cowell, who is worth an estimated $350 million, was named as a co-respondent in the divorce papers filed by his pregnant lover’s estranged husband Andrew Silverman two weeks ago, and as such could be called to the witness stand in the case.
In this situation, Simon Cowell, 53, is likely to be quizzed by lawyers about his financial situation in order to determine the appropriate settlement value for Lauren Silverman.
It was also reported that Simon Cowell had attempted to reach a financial settlement with Lauren before the baby news was made public.
Simon Cowell could be forced to reveal details of his personal finances in Lauren Silverman’s divorce battle
One friend said: “Simon is gearing up for a potentially ugly child support battle. He tried desperately to reach an agreement with Lauren before it went public but she surprised Simon and leaked the news.
“Simon was hoping to reach a financial agreement with her and then release a joint statement but Lauren is savvy and wants to be famous and when he refused her opening demands for marriage she leaked it.”
In addition to potentially having to reveal monetary details of his life on the witness stand, Simon Cowell could also be left with Andrew Silverman’s legal bill, estimated to reach around $300,000, if the real estate mogul achieves his aim of proving adultery.
Andrew Silverman had cited adultery as the basis of the marriage breakdown in the papers, in which he also labeled his estranged wife, with whom he has a seven-year-old son, as “cruel and inhuman”.
For Andrew Silverman to prove adultery, Simon Cowell would have to reveal evidence of his meetings with Lauren, such as hotel receipts and text messages.
Simon Cowell is also said to be concerned that the claims of adultery, which are as yet entirely unproven, will endanger his various multi-million dollars sponsorship deals.
Simon Cowell is reportedly expecting a baby with married New York socialite Lauren Silverman.
According to MailOnline, a friend of Simon Cowell said that Lauren Silverman, who is technically still married to real estate mogul Andrew Silverman, a close friend of Cowell’s, had revealed that she wants to marry the star just a few weeks ago.
Lauren Silverman and real estate mogul Andrew have been long friends with Simon Cowell and have enjoyed holidays with him for the past few years.
But it wasn’t until Lauren and Andrew Silverman ended their relationship that her friendship with Simon Cowell turned into romance, around a year ago.
A friend of Lauren Silverman’s said: “Lauren loves Simon, she says that she wants to marry him. And with the baby, she’s going the right way about it! But I think this could be really good for Simon.”
Another friend confirmed the baby news and said “yes, all true”.
Lauren Silverman, 36, is said to be “around 10 weeks along” in the pregnancy, according to Us Weekly magazine.
However, Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman’s situation is made more complicated by the fact that she is still technically married to Andrew.
The source told Usmagazine.com: “Lauren and Andrew have been unhappy in their marriage for some time, and their divorce has been in the works for a while. As their marriage deteriorated, she and Simon became close.”
Simon Cowell is expecting a baby with married New York socialite Lauren Silverman
Simon Cowell, 53, and Lauren Silverman have been seeing each for at least a year, according to friends, and were even seen viewing houses together in Los Angeles earlier this year.
In January, Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman were even seen lounging together on the deck of the yacht alongside Cowell’s ex-fiancée Mezhgan Hussainy and Andrew.
Their close friend, fashion designer Rachel Roy, posted a picture of the couple cuddling up together while on holiday with them at New Year. While on board a luxury yacht, she thanked both her ‘hosts’ for inviting her on the trip.
Simon Cowell made no reference to impending fatherhood when he opened up to Chelsea Handler during an interview on her talk show on Tuesday night, sticking to topics including One Direction and his recent health kick.
It remains to be seen just how the news that he is to be a father will go down with Simon Cowell, who has never made a secret of the fact that he doesn’t believe he is the right material to become a parent.
In an interview in 2009, Simon Cowell said: “God, no. I couldn’t have children. If I had them here drawing on the walls I’d go nuts.
“With kids, you’ve got a routine you can’t escape from. You’ve got to be up at a certain time. Got to listen. When all you want to do is sit in a corner thinking.”
However, in a more recent interview in April this year, Simon Cowell appeared to have somewhat changed his mind, saying: “I haven’t ruled it out. If I knew I could be – how do I put this delicately – faithful, I would.
“I do like kids, I’m just not sure I’d be any good for the first six months. I don’t think I’d adopt because I’d rather have my own. I’d have to say I’d like a little girl.”
Simon Cowell’s relationship history includes romances with Sinitta, Terri Seymour and Alicia Douvall.
He is believed to have been engaged twice, once to Page Three model Louise Payne back in 1995, and more recently to make-up artist Mezhgan Hussainy.
Simon Cowell and Mezhgan Hussainy, who met when she was employed as a make-up artist on American Idol back in 2003, broke off their engagement last year.
Their split was later confirmed by mutual friend Zetta Graff, who said that Mezhgan Hussainy had become “too needy” for the mogul.
Simon Cowell later described the engagement as his “big mistake”, adding: “I’m attracted to crazy women. I encourage crazy behavior and I make them crazy.
“I’m attracted to certain personalities who are difficult to control. So there are tantrums, tears and fights, which is all part of the drama. My life is really odd.
“Every girl wants to be number one and they’re very territorial. I like the fight, because otherwise I’d have a dull group of girlfriends.”
Simon Cowell’s most recent relationship was with fellow X Factor USA judge Carmen Electra, with whom he was seen on several dates in 2012.
However, in February this year, Simon Cowell confirmed he was single, saying: “We spent time together and she is so much fun. But I’d like to find a girlfriend.”
But while Simon Cowell has spoken in recent months about his desire to settle down, he then called relationships “boring” in an interview last month.
Donald Trump’s Twitter account has been hacked, and the real estate mogul was not amused by the prank.
“Twitter will soon be irrelevant if lowlifes are so easily able to hack into accounts,” Donald Trump fumed.
In an earlier message, Donald Trump had confirmed that his account was “seriously hacked” and added, “we are looking for the perpetrators”.
The hacking brouhaha was sparked by a tweet fired off from Donald Trump’s account at 11.41 a.m. which read: “Those hoes [sic] think they classy, well that’s the class i’m skippen.”
Hip hop aficionados immediately recognized in the message a lyric by Lil’ Wayne, who is featured on Will.i.am featuring Britney Spears’ song called Scream & Shout.
Donald Trump, 66, has never been known as a major hip hop enthusiast, his followers and commentators immediately suspected a prank.
The offensive message was quickly deleted from the account, and Donald Trump’s spokesman, Michael Cohen, later stated that authorities are investigating the hacking.
Donald Trump’s Twitter account has been hacked, and the real estate mogul was not amused by the prank
“Regrettably there was a single instance of Mr. Trump’s twitter account being hacked. The offensive tweet was removed within minutes of being posted and is currently being investigated by the authorities,” Michael Cohen said in a statement to Politico.
Donald Trump, who has gained notoriety for his relentless attacks on President Barack Obama and his off-color remarks about race relations and immigration, is only the latest Twitter user to have his account hijacked.
Earlier this week, Burger King and Jeep both had their Twitter pages hacked, with the pranksters firing off dozens of vulgar messages and racial epithets before the companies caught on and regained control of their accounts.
