'A scam artist': Trump bashed as he faces trial for duping people to invest in failed video phone venture

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: A federal lawsuit levied against Donald Trump and his family, accusing them of promoting a pyramid scheme, is set to finally proceed to trial, six years after its initial filing.

According to a report by Law&Crime, US District Judge Lorna G. Schofield officially set the date for Trump to face trial on January 29, 2024, for allegedly tempting American citizens to invest in a loss-making video phone.

The lawsuit, filed anonymously in Manhattan, New York, in 2018, claims that the Trump Corporation engaged in a multi-level marketing scheme through its association with ACN Opportunity, LLC, which operates under the name American Communications Network.

Trump received millions of dollars in secret payments “to promote and endorse” ACN, a marketing company that promoted a novel type of video phone.

Video phones, which were prevalent in the 2000s, were surpassed by smartphones equipped with the video chat function. Video calling was first introduced by Skype in 2006, and Apple popularized video chat with a front-facing camera in its iPhone in 2010.

The lawsuit claims that Trump promoted the product on the TV show ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ without disclosing that ACN was paying him.

The lawsuit includes embedded advertisements from the show, one of which reads, "Personally endorsed by renowned entrepreneur and multi-billionaire Donald J. Trump."

Allegedly, the current Republican frontrunner for 2024 stated at the time that ACN's video phones were generating "half-a-billion dollars' worth of sales a year".

What did authorities and Trump's spokesperson say on the matter?

The lawsuit states, “Trump also told investors that he had 'experienced the opportunity' and 'done a lot of research,' and that his endorsement was 'not for any money.' Not a word of this was true.”

Per the 161-page complaint filed in 2018, “Trump told prospective investors that "(y)ou have a great opportunity before you at ACN without any of the risks most entrepreneurs have to take."

The lawsuit alleges that Trump was paid covertly for allowing two of ACN's founders to appear on his reality show, 'Celebrity Apprentice'.

It claims that ACN started selling a video phone in 2018 that was "essentially a desktop, wired telephone with a video screen and webcam in addition to the usual handset and keypad," with it being compatible only with other ACN phones and subscriptions.

The lawsuit also stated, "Trump repeatedly praised ACN's 'great product'—its 'new ACN Video Phone.' But ACN's video phone was anything but great—the product was doomed almost from the outset."

Roberta Kaplan, who is heading the lawsuit filed in 2018 by four complainants, sought to avoid an election-year trial and requested an October 2023 trial date “before primary contests and other campaign-related events begin in earnest".

In a four-page letter dated November 21, shortly after Trump declared his intention to run for President again, Kaplan wrote, “Plaintiffs have no desire to interfere with the upcoming campaign, and are mindful that, should the schedule in this case extend into 2024, Defendants likely will, as they have in the past, use the campaign as a basis to seek further delay. Setting a trial date now will provide certainty and avoid any such delay later.”

“In addition, aligning summary judgment briefing with class certification briefing makes sense, given that discovery will be complete and there is no reason to wait,” Kaplan wrote.

Viewing Trump's trial cross-examination as "crucial," Kaplan said that the real campaigning would probably start in January or February of 2024.

She pointed out that the same thing occurred in 2016 when the then-candidate's attorneys asked for a post-election date in a class action case against the now-closed Trump University.

“The same writing is on the wall for this case,” Kaplan said.

The legal representatives of the former US President have presented a plea highlighting that scheduling an October 2023 trial date would create a conflict with another lawsuit filed against the former President and his family.

The lawsuit in question is a fraud suit brought forward by the New York Attorney General, Letitia James, which is presently set to proceed to trial in state court during the same month.

“Plaintiffs’ initial request for an October 2023 trial date is nothing more than an unfortunate attempt to interfere with another case in which my partner and I are counsel for Donald Trump, Jr. and Eric Trump, both of whom are also Defendants in this case,” Trump’s attorney Clifford F. Robert wrote in a reply letter.

He claimed that Kaplan’s concerns about the future delay were based on “nothing more than speculation, surmise, and conjecture".

In her order, Judge Schofield warned that there would be no further delay.

“The trial date is firm, as the trial is scheduled far advance to accommodate the parties’ stated availability in their letters,” the judge wrote in her order.

Both of the parties estimate that the trial will last two to four weeks.

Internet trolls Trump as his criminal charges is seemingly never-ending

People on X slammed Trump for his swindling nature, and for allegedly taking money from a business on his reality TV show to promote their product.

One X user wrote: "Trump's a scam artist and complete moron. He's incapable of even describing what he does. It's all bullshit with Trump. Everything."

Another user remarked: "Every single thing about Trump is corrupt and fraudulent."

Another user stated: "David Frum got it right. Trump is a GREAT SALESMAN for low quality products; one of those products is himself. That is his entire career."

One user said: "He's not going to govern the country. He's in it to stay out of prison and steal as much money as he possibly can. Any way he can."

Another X user wrote: "Trump is going through some things... Again."

Finally, this user tweeted: "My neighbor got scammed into this scheme, he invited myself and 95 other people to his sales party, I was the only one who showed up (free food) and laughed when he showed a video of trump, he lost a ton of money and still supports him"

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.