Overview

Art Cohen is a retired small business owner from San Diego who became the lead plaintiff in Cohen v. Trump; one of the class action lawsuits against Trump University. Cohen paid $35;000 to attend Trump University's "Gold Elite" program; which promised participants would learn Donald Trump's personal real estate investment secrets from "hand-picked" professors. In reality; the instructors were not hand-picked by Trump; had no special expertise; and the program was designed primarily to upsell students into increasingly expensive seminars. Cohen testified that he was pressured into maxing out his credit cards to pay for the program and received no meaningful real estate education. The class action ultimately resulted in a $25 million settlement in November 2016; just days after Trump won the presidential election. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman had separately sued Trump University for fraud; and internal documents revealed that the program's "playbook" instructed salespeople to target financially vulnerable people; including single parents and the elderly; using high-pressure tactics. Trump had publicly vowed never to settle the case; calling it a matter of principle; but agreed to the $25 million payout shortly after his election.

Key Affiliations

Controversies & Concerns

Related Investigations (1)

Known Associates & Connections

Sources & Documentation

1 documented sources from official records, investigations, and reports