President-elect Donald Trump agreed to settle his outstanding lawsuits related to Trump University on Friday afternoon for $25 million, the New York attorney general’s office said.
“Today’s $25 million settlement agreement is a stunning reversal by Donald Trump and a major victory for the over 6,000 victims of his fraudulent university,” Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement. “I am pleased that under the terms of this settlement, every victim will receive restitution and that Donald Trump will pay up to $1 million in penalties to the State of New York for violating state education laws.”
Former students who paid $25,000 for real estate advice sued Trump for failing to deliver on their promised education.
“In 2013, my office sued Donald Trump for swindling thousands of innocent Americans out of millions of dollars through a scheme known as Trump University,” Schneiderman’s statement said. “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. Today, that all changes.”
Trump, who previously said he would not settle the lawsuit, mocked the presiding judge in the case in June for his Mexican heritage.