Lawsuit claims Trumps profited from marketing scheme aimed at teens

[Gothmog]

Source: cnn

An amended class-action lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court on Thursday accused President Donald Trump, his three eldest children and his company of collaborating with a fraudulent marketing scheme to prey on investors -- including by recruiting teenagers, promising them success as "The Trumps of Tomorrow."

The lawsuit alleges that in exchange for "secret" payments, Trump and three of his adult children used his former reality TV show "The Celebrity Apprentice" and other promotional events as vehicles to boost ACN Opportunity, a telecommunications marketing company linked to a nonprofit that used Trump's brand to appeal to teens.

After Trump joined the board of the nonprofit in 2009, the lawsuit alleges, it distributed an edition of its magazine, "Success from Home," that contained an article titled "The Trumps of Tomorrow," announcing his involvement and featuring an interview with him. Included in the magazine was an image of four teenagers, as well as references to Trump's children, "who all now work with the Trump dynasty."

"I think children learn by example," Trump was quoted as saying in the article, according to the lawsuit. "I'm happy to lend my support to charitable organizations like the SUCCESS Foundation that make a difference on the next generation of leaders."

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/31/politics/trump-lawsuit-marketing-teens/index.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twCNNp&utm_content=2019-01-31T21%3A49%3A54&utm_term=image

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Nobody is safe from the Trump family's grifting.

[iluvtennis]

5. Ditto

[montanacowboy]

2. Jezus H. Christ

WHAT WON'T THEY GRIFT

DESPICABLE VERMIN - EVERYONE OF THEM - IT'S IN THEIR GENES

[SoCalNative]

3. Grifters gonna grift

Lock them all up!

[world wide wally]

4. Assholes

[Botany]

6. Grifters

Lock 'em up.

[Scurrilous]

7. ...

[KY_EnviroGuy]

8. A little background for your reading pleasure...

ACN Inc.

ACN, LLC (formerly ACN, Inc.) is a North-American based multi-level marketing (MLM) company[5] which provides telecommunications, energy, merchant services and other services, depending on the country, through a network of independent sales agents known as "Independent Business Owners" (IBOs), who themselves can recruit new IBOs. IBOs can earn residual income and bonuses through the acquisition of personal customers, as well as customers by other IBOs who they recruit.

Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACN_Inc.

(snip)

From 2006 until he announced his presidential candidacy in 2015, ACN had a business relationship with former The Apprentice executive producer Donald Trump. Trump appeared in promotional videos touting the company's “revolutionary products”, devoted an episode of The Apprentice to ACN's “revolutionary” videophone, and earned millions of dollars giving speeches at ACN International Training Events, up to early 2015, where he has praised the company's founders and business model. Following the official beginning of his 2016 presidential candidacy, all references to Donald Trump were removed from the ACN website and Trump distanced himself from the company in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. "I know nothing about the company other than the people who run the company," Trump told them. "I’m not familiar with what they do or how they go about doing it, and I make that clear in my speeches."
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ACN's Income Disclosure Statement bears the warning that "not all ACN Independent Representatives make a profit and no one can be guaranteed success as an ACN Independent Representative."
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Legal cases
On June 13, 2002, ACN settled a case with the Bureau of Consumer Services in Pennsylvania wherein it was alleged that IBOs were "slamming", or switching consumer services without authorization.
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In August 2010, the Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance Monica Lindeen announced the issuance of a Cease and Desist Order and Notice of Proposed Agency Action against ACN, Inc. and several of its founders for allegedly operating a "pyramid scheme."

Nothing works better than a good pyramid scheme to pay for Big Macs!..........

[Gothmog]

9. Who is surprised by this?

Pyramid schemes fit the trump business pattern

[Gothmog]

10. Trump kids deeply involved in video phone scam hyped on 'The Apprentice,' duped ex-investors say

Link to tweet

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

11. The guy just reeks of sleaze.