Trump University Victims Testify to Losing Retirement Savings, Disability Income to Fraudulent Scheme

Court documents and victim testimony released in June 2016 revealed the devastating human cost of Trump University’s fraudulent scheme, with students testifying they lost retirement savings, disability income, and home equity after being pressured into purchasing courses costing up to $35,000. Former Trump University sales manager Ronald Schnackenberg provided damning testimony about a couple who attended a Spring 2007 seminar in New York City and would have had to use the husband’s disability income and take out a loan against their apartment to pay for the elite program. When Schnackenberg refused to complete the sale due to ethical concerns, he “was reprimanded for not trying harder” and another salesman successfully pressured the couple into the nearly $35,000 purchase. George Hanus testified he drained his retirement savings based on advice received at Trump University. Multiple victims described being promised “apprenticeship” with Trump himself and personal attention from Trump-selected experts—promises that never materialized.

Background

The victim testimony corroborated the predatory sales tactics revealed in unsealed Trump University playbooks. Students, many of them elderly or financially vulnerable, were told by high-pressure salespeople that Trump University represented a “once in a lifetime” opportunity to learn directly from Donald Trump. The sales tactics included creating artificial urgency, dismissing financial concerns with phrases like “You’re not a loser, are you?”, and encouraging students to max out credit cards or raid retirement accounts. Former employees testified that the “mentors” had no special expertise and the course materials were available free online. The aggressive upselling from $1,495 introductory seminars to $34,995 elite programs was the core of the business model, with salespeople trained to exploit emotional vulnerabilities and financial desperation. Multiple victims described life-altering financial harm from money they could not afford to lose, spent on education that provided no meaningful value.

Significance

The victim testimony provided the human face of Trump University’s systematic fraud, documenting real people who lost retirement savings, disability income, and home equity to Trump’s scheme. The testimony destroyed Trump’s repeated claims that students were satisfied with their Trump University experience, revealing instead a pattern of exploitation targeting the most vulnerable: the elderly, the financially desperate, those seeking economic improvement during difficult times. Schnackenberg’s testimony about being reprimanded for ethical concerns revealed a corporate culture that prioritized profit extraction over consumer protection or basic human decency. The fact that Trump University salespeople successfully pressured a disabled couple into spending $35,000 they didn’t have—and that management praised this as good salesmanship rather than predatory abuse—encapsulated the moral bankruptcy of the enterprise. These victim testimonies would become powerful evidence forcing Trump to settle for $25 million to avoid testifying under oath during his presidential transition about his role in systematically defrauding working Americans.