At Trump University, Students Recall Pressure to Give Positive Reviews

In the sprawling business empire of Donald J. Trump, the real estate classes that bore his name seem to occupy a tiny, insignificant corner. But the controversy and litigation nowenveloping them have taken on surprising potency in the Republican presidential campaign that he is dominating.

Now, as Mr. Trump tries to fend off claims of misleading and fraudulent practices from scores of former students, claims his opponents have brought up in debates and in ads, his biggest weapon is what appears to be the overwhelmingly positive reviews from past participants — a 98 percent level of satisfaction, in his telling. “Beautiful statements,” is how he describes the evaluations.

But hundreds of pages of legal documents, as well as interviews with former students and instructors, suggest the surveys themselves were a central component of a business model that, according to lawsuits and investigators, deceived consumers into handing over thousands of dollars with tantalizing promises of riches.

New York Times