Donald Trump pays out his $25 million Trump University settlement

Catherine Garcia, The Week US's avatar
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Trump University books.
(Image credit: Scott Gries/Getty Images)

President-elect Donald Trump quietly paid out $25 million on Tuesday night to settle litigation against his now-defunct Trump University, one day before the deadline and three days before he is set to be inaugurated.

The funds were deposited into an escrow account by the Trump Entrepreneur Initiative (Trump University had to change its name to the Trump Entrepreneur Initiative after New York officials told it to stop using the word "university"), and the $25 million will settle three lawsuits that said Trump University misled students into thinking they would learn actual useful tips about real estate by instructors handpicked by Trump. The settlement was reached on Nov. 18; $21 million will go to thousands of class members in two cases out of San Diego, and $4 million will take care of a suit filed by the New York attorney general. A final approval hearing is set for March 30 in San Diego federal court.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.