DHAKA: Donald Trump has settled three Trump University lawsuits for $25m (£20m).
The US president-elect was being sued by former students who paid $35,000 (£28,000) for real estate “secrets” from his “hand-picked” instructors, reports the BBC.
Trump had repeatedly said he would not settle the class-action lawsuits.
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said the settlement was a “stunning reversal” by Trump and a “major victory” for victims.
But Trump’s lawyer Daniel Petrocelli said his client was pleased with the outcome, saying “he was willing to sacrifice his personal interests, put this behind him, and move forward”.
The businessman faced three fraud lawsuits - which alleged the school misled students and failed to deliver on its promises - in California and New York.
A trial in one of the cases had been due to begin in San Diego on November 28, although Trump’s lawyers had attempted to delay the case.
Schneiderman, who Trump has attacked as a ‘lightweight’, had sought a $40m payout from Trump over the university, which closed in 2010.
He called Trump University a “fraud from beginning to end” in July, adding that the organization used “false promises to prey on desperate people”.
US District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is presiding over the two California cases, had been urging both sides to settle out of court.
The settlement may be costly but it will save the President-elect from a potentially embarrassing trial.
Donald Trump had vowed to keep fighting this case and his attorneys said they had no doubt he would have won in court, but they added that a resolution allows Trump to devote his full attention to the important issues facing the nation.
Settling though could backfire on Trump as he is facing dozens of lawsuits.
Plaintiffs may smell blood and think he is eager to settle to avoid court cases while president.
Trump University promised students the opportunity to learn from “hand-picked” teachers that actually were not chosen by Trump himself.
Schneiderman alleged that the closest student ever got to the real estate mogul was having their photo taken beside a cardboard cutout of him.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has named more conservative hardliners for key posts, with Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions nominated as attorney general, the country’s top law enforcement office.
Sessions was rejected from becoming a federal judge in 1986 because of alleged racist remarks.
In a statement, Trump called Sessions a “world class legal mind”.
Mike Pompeo will be CIA director and retired Lt Gen Michael Flynn has been made national security adviser.
Both men have been vocal critics of the Obama administration.
BDST: 1746 HRS, NOV 19, 2016
NJ/BD
