[5] In 2011, the company became the subject of an inquiry by the New York Attorney General's office for illegal business practices, which resulted in a lawsuit filed in August 2013.

The lawsuits centered around allegations that Trump University defrauded its students by using misleading marketing practices and engaging in aggressive sales tactics.

High prices were charged for seminars and programs not to enrich Trump, but so that (as one teacher explained to students) "you assume personal responsibility for doing the work".

[13] The company's original business plan focused on online education, but quickly expanded to include live, in-person instruction.

[26][24] Three lawsuits were filed asserting that Trump University engaged in a variety of illegal business practices, ranging from false claims to racketeering.

[23] On August 24, 2013, the State of New York filed a $40 million civil suit against Trump University alleging illegal business practices and false claims made by the company.

[35] Because of strict confidentiality laws, it is unknown whether the complaint was dismissed because Trump's claims were untrue or because Schneiderman's actions did not contravene any ethical rules.

[36] In October 2014, a New York judge found Trump personally liable for operating the company without the required business license.

An investigation by the consumer protection division had found the company was "engaging in false, misleading and deceptive practices" and had defrauded Texas taxpayers out of $2.6 million.

According to John Owens, the Texas attorney general's deputy chief of consumer protection at the time, an estimated 267 Texans spent more than $425,000 on the three-day seminars, and 39 purchased Trump's “Gold Elite” package of additional classes and other perks costing $35,000 each.

The training materials we have reviewed indicate that Trump University 3-day seminar attendees are taught to prey upon homeowners in financial turmoil and to target foreclosure properties.

[41] In February 2014, U.S. district court judge Gonzalo P. Curiel denied recognition to the nationwide class the plaintiffs had requested and recognized the suit as class-action on the part of Trump University clients in three states—California, Florida, and New York—based on specific alleged violations of the consumer protection laws of those states.

[43] On August 23, 2010, U.S. district judge Irma E. Gonzalez ruled that Trump University was not a public figure, did not need to show malice on Makaeff's part, and could proceed with its defamation claim.

Makaeff appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, where a three-judge panel ruled unanimously on April 17, 2013, that Trump University is a "limited-purpose public figure" that must demonstrate malice on Makaeff's part to establish defamation; it returned the case to the district court to consider the defamation claim against that standard.

She asked for $1.3 million, and on April 20, 2015, Curiel ordered Trump University to reimburse Makaeff $798,000 in legal fees and costs.

[50] On October 18, 2013, California businessman Art Cohen filed a civil suit, Art Cohen v. Donald J. Trump, in the U.S. District Court for Southern California, as a class action on behalf of consumers throughout the United States who purchased services known as "Live Events" from Trump University after January 1, 2007.

[52] In an order dated October 24, 2014, Judge Curiel certified the class proposed by the plaintiff and ruled that Cohen had presented enough evidence to allow the case to proceed.

[60] At the same time, Curiel urged the parties to work toward a settlement, and both sides accepted an offer from U.S. district judge Jeffrey T. Miller to facilitate such talks.

[11][63][64][65] On August 2, 2016, the court denied a request by The Washington Post and other media organizations for public release of hours of videotaped testimony from Trump's two depositions in Cohen, taken in November 2015 and January 2016.

He also noted that if the videos were publicly released, it was "nigh-inevitable" that the footage would be used in news accounts and political ads, which might prejudice the jury pool pre-trial.

[58] During primary campaign speeches, Trump repeatedly called the judge a "hater" and described him as "Spanish" or "Mexican"[66] (Curiel was born in Indiana to parents who had immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico).

[72][73] On June 7, 2016, Trump issued a lengthy statement saying his criticism of the judge had been "misconstrued" and that his concerns about Curiel's impartiality were not based upon ethnicity alone, but also upon rulings in the case.

[76] The plaintiffs' attorneys agreed to forgo their fees and work pro bono to maximize the amount that will go to the approximately 7,000 former Trump University students involved in the case.

[86] Six years later, during the 2016 presidential election, the Associated Press found that Trump had donated $35,000 Abbott's successful campaign for governor in 2014.

[88] Ken Paxton, who succeeded Abbott as Texas Attorney General, sent a cease and desist letter to former Deputy Chief of Consumer Protection John Owens, who said he had been told to drop the case and had forwarded previously undisclosed documents to the Associated Press.

[91] The office of Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi announced in September 2013 that it was considering joining a New York lawsuit against Trump University.

[96][97] In September 2016, it was reported that the donation violated laws against political contributions from nonprofit organizations, and that Trump had reimbursed the foundation with his own money and paid the IRS a $2,500 excise tax as a penalty.

[99] The White House announced in November 2019 that Bondi would join its staff temporarily for handling communications about the ongoing impeachment inquiry against Trump, prompting objection from ethics watchdogs.

"[105][106] Senators and fellow presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio raised the subject during televised debates in February and March.

[113] Trump University was also the butt of jokes in a Will and Grace mini-episode released in September 2016, created to get out the vote for the 2016 presidential election.