NEW YORK _ President Donald Trump and his family suckered people into investing in bogus business opportunities that falsely promised big profits, minimal risk and "secrets to success," a new lawsuit charges.
The 160-page complaint revolves around Trump's support of three businesses prior to taking office: the telemarketing company ACN, a vitamin company dubbed The Trump Network and a real estate seminars company dubbed the Trump Institute.
Trump endorsed the companies at the same time he achieved new levels of celebrity status thanks to "The Apprentice," the suit says.
Trump said that all the businesses offered excellent chances of commercial success and that his support had only come after thorough due diligence.
In reality, none of that was true, the suit says.
Instead, Trump was leading a scheme "knowingly designed to defraud consumers and enrich the Trump Enterprise," according to court papers.
The suit was filed by four people using pseudonyms. They all say they bought into ACN because of Trump's support.
One plaintiff, a California resident identified only as Jane Doe, spent more than $2,000 attending ACN conventions, but earned only $38, according to the suit.
The lawsuit is being funded by the Tesseract Research Center, a nonprofit whose chairman is a prominent Democratic donor, according to a spokesman for the law firms that filed the suit, Kaplan, Hecker & Fink and Emery, Celli, Brinckerhoff & Abady.
Trump's support of the companies is reminiscent of the controversy surrounding Trump University _ a real estate school that many participants said was a total fraud. Trump settled a suit brought by New York's attorney general over the university's business practices for $25 million.
