Judge Unseals Trump University Documents Revealing Predatory Sales Playbook Targeting Vulnerable Consumers

U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel ordered the unsealing of over 400 pages of Trump University documents on May 31, 2016, revealing internal sales “playbooks” that detailed aggressive, predatory tactics designed to extract maximum money from vulnerable consumers. The documents exposed systematic instructions for salespeople to encourage students to max out credit cards, open new credit cards when existing ones were at their limit, and withdraw money from retirement savings to pay for Trump University courses. The sales manuals explicitly stated “Money is never a reason for not enrolling in Trump University” and instructed employees to manipulate prospects emotionally, insisting “if they really believe in you and your product, they will find the money.” Former Trump University sales manager Ronald Schnackenberg testified: “Based upon my personal experience and employment, I believe that Trump University was a fraudulent scheme, and that it preyed upon the elderly and uneducated to separate them from their money.”

Background

The unsealed documents included detailed sales playbooks, employee testimony, and internal communications that revealed the systematic nature of Trump University’s fraud. The playbooks instructed salespeople on how to overcome objections, create artificial urgency, and exploit emotional vulnerabilities to close sales. One particularly damaging testimony came from Schnackenberg, who recounted the story of a couple in Spring 2007 who would have had to use the husband’s disability income and take out a loan against their apartment equity to pay for courses. When Schnackenberg failed to sell them the nearly $35,000 elite package, “I was reprimanded for not trying harder” and another salesman successfully pressured them into the purchase. The documents contradicted Trump’s repeated claims that students were satisfied—they revealed a systematic operation designed to extract money regardless of students’ ability to pay or the actual educational value delivered.

Significance

The unsealing of these documents during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign provided definitive proof of systematic consumer fraud and predatory business practices. The internal playbooks demolished Trump’s defenses that Trump University was a legitimate educational enterprise with satisfied customers. The documents showed conscious, deliberate targeting of vulnerable populations—the elderly, the financially desperate, those with limited education—with tactics designed to exploit their hopes for financial improvement. The testimony from former employees like Schnackenberg provided insider corroboration of the fraudulent scheme, making it impossible for Trump to dismiss the allegations as political attacks. Judge Curiel’s decision to unseal the documents demonstrated judicial commitment to transparency despite intense pressure from Trump’s legal team. The documents would become central evidence forcing Trump to settle the lawsuits for $25 million after his election, avoiding testimony under oath that would have required him to defend these indefensible practices in open court.