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Judge Allows ‘Pyramid Scheme’ Case Against Trump Family to Go Ahead

The lawsuit accuses the Trumps of conning victims out of millions of dollars.

A lawsuit alleging President Trump carried out fraud by promoting a pyramid scheme will go ahead after a federal judge dismissed his legal counsel’s request for a stay. Newsweek reports that the lawsuit claims Trump and his kids—Donald Trump Jr., Eric, and Ivanka—are guilty of fraud, false advertising, and unfair competition in their dealings with marketing company ACN. It claims the Trumps didn’t disclose their relationship with ACN and made millions by telling investors they would have a “reasonable probability of success” if they joined the scheme. “The Trumps conned each of these victims into giving up hundreds or thousands of dollars—losses that many experienced as a devastating and life-altering,“ the lawsuit claims. “Surely the Trumps dismissed these amounts (and the lives they wrecked) as trivial. But by defrauding so many for so long, the Trumps made millions.” Trump said he was “not familiar” with the company in 2016—but he reportedly once featured it on The Celebrity Apprentice. The Trump Organization hasn’t commented on the judge’s decision.