COMPLAINT Case 1:18-Cv-09936-LGS Document 19 Filed 10/30/18 Page 2 of 164

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

COMPLAINT Case 1:18-Cv-09936-LGS Document 19 Filed 10/30/18 Page 2 of 164 Case 1:18-cv-09936-LGS Document 19 Filed 10/30/18 Page 1 of 164 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK JANE DOE, LUKE LOE, RICHARD ROE, and MARY MOE, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. No. _______________________ THE TRUMP CORPORATION, DONALD J. TRUMP, in his personal capacity, DONALD TRUMP JR., ERIC TRUMP, and JURY TRIAL DEMANDED IVANKA TRUMP, Defendants. CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT Case 1:18-cv-09936-LGS Document 19 Filed 10/30/18 Page 2 of 164 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 PARTIES ...................................................................................................................................... 11 A. Plaintiffs ................................................................................................................ 11 B. Defendants ............................................................................................................ 11 JURISDICTION AND VENUE ................................................................................................... 12 FACTS .......................................................................................................................................... 13 I. THE TRUMP ENTERPRISE ........................................................................................... 13 A. The Trump Association-in-Fact ............................................................................ 13 B. The Trump Corp. Enterprise ................................................................................. 15 II. BETWEEN THE EARLY AND MID-2000S, TRUMP REINVENTED HIS BRAND, AND THE TRUMP ENTERPRISE BEGAN TO CONCOCT ITS FRAUDULENT SCHEME. ......................................................................................................................... 16 III. THE TRUMP ENTERPRISE AGREES TO ENDORSE AND PROMOTE ACN THROUGH A PERVASIVE AND WIDELY DISSEMINATED MESSAGE. .............. 25 A. The ACN “Business Opportunity” Needed High-Profile Endorsement To Recruit and Maintain Investors. ............................................................................ 25 B. Trump Disseminated the Message Through ACN Videos ................................... 29 C. Trump Disseminated the Message Through Print and Online Media................... 30 D. Trump Disseminated the Message at ACN Events ............................................... 32 E. Trump Disseminated the Message Through National Primetime Television ....... 35 IV. THE TRUMP ENTERPRISE KNOWINGLY CONVEYED A CONSISTENT FRAUDULENT MESSAGE ABOUT ACN. ................................................................... 37 A. The Trump Enterprise Falsely Represented that the ACN Business Opportunity Offered Consumers a Reasonable Probability of Commercial Success. ................................................................................................................. 37 1. Trump Misrepresented ACN’s Risk-Profile. ............................................ 38 2. Trump Falsely Claimed That ACN’s Business Model (and Direct- Selling in General) Provided a Viable Source of Income for Prospective Investors. ............................................................................... 41 3. Trump Misrepresented the Commercial Viability of ACN’s Products, Especially the ACN Video Phone. ............................................................ 43 Case 1:18-cv-09936-LGS Document 19 Filed 10/30/18 Page 3 of 164 B. Trump Falsely Represented that He Genuinely Supported ACN and Failed To Disclose That He Was Being Paid Lavishly for His Endorsement. ...................... 49 C. Trump Falsely Represented that His Endorsement Was Predicated on Appropriate Due Diligence and Personal Experience with ACN’s Business. ...... 56 V. THE TRUMP ENTERPRISE’S FRAUDULENT PROMOTION AND ENDORSEMENT OF ACN WAS THE KEY FACTOR IN PLAINTIFFS’ INVESTMENT DECISIONS. .......................................................................................... 58 A. Jane Doe ................................................................................................................ 61 B. Luke Loe ............................................................................................................... 68 C. Richard Roe .......................................................................................................... 71 D. Mary Moe.............................................................................................................. 75 VI. THE TRUMP ENTERPRISE AND ACN’S CO-FOUNDER WAS INVOLVED IN SIDE DEALS THAT FACILITATED MONEY FLOW BETWEEN THEM. ................ 79 A. ACN’s Co-Founder Bought Property Around The Trump Organization’s Major Golf Course Development in North Carolina. ........................................... 79 B. ACN Has Paid the Trump Enterprise To Hold Charitable Golf Tournaments at Trump Golf Clubs. ................................................................................................ 81 C. Trump Joined the Advisory Board of the SUCCESS Foundation, an Affiliate of SUCCESS from Home Magazine, which Purported To Provide “Third-Party Validation” of the ACN Business Opportunity. ................................................... 85 VII. THE TRUMP ENTERPRISE’S ONGOING PROMOTION AND ENDORSEMENT OF ACN ............................................................................................................................ 88 VIII. THE TRUMP ENTERPRISE’S FRAUDULENT PROMOTION AND ENDORSEMENT OF THE TRUMP NETWORK .......................................................... 91 A. Ideal Health Background & DSNC Licensing Deal ............................................. 92 B. Background on The Trump Network .................................................................... 93 C. Trump Promoted and Endorsed the Trump Network with a Widely Distributed and Pervasive Message. ..................................................................... 94 D. Trump Falsely Represented That Consumers Had a Reasonable Probability of Commercial Success in The Trump Network. ...................................................... 98 E. Trump Falsely Represented that He Was Endorsing The Trump Network Because It Was His Company and Because He Genuinely Believed It Would Be a Success. ....................................................................................................... 106 -ii- Case 1:18-cv-09936-LGS Document 19 Filed 10/30/18 Page 4 of 164 IX. THE TRUMP ENTERPRISE’S FRAUDULENT PROMOTION AND ENDORSEMENT OF THE TRUMP INSTITUTE ........................................................ 110 A. Trump Falsely Represented That Consumers Had Reasonable Probability of Commercial Success in The Trump Institute. ..................................................... 112 B. Trump Falsely Represented that He Supported the Trump Institute Because He Believed It Offered a Reasonable Probability of Commercial Success (Rather than Because the Trump Enterprise Was Being Paid). .......................... 122 C. Trump Falsely Represented that His Endorsement Was Predicated on Appropriate Due Diligence and/or Inside Information. ...................................... 130 X. CLASS ALLEGATIONS ............................................................................................... 131 CAUSES OF ACTION ............................................................................................................... 137 COUNT ONE.............................................................................................................................. 137 COUNT TWO:............................................................................................................................ 144 COUNT THREE: ........................................................................................................................ 144 COUNT FOUR ........................................................................................................................... 147 COUNT FIVE: ............................................................................................................................ 150 COUNT SIX ............................................................................................................................... 151 COUNT SEVEN ......................................................................................................................... 153 COUNT EIGHT .......................................................................................................................... 156 PRAYER FOR RELIEF ............................................................................................................. 159 JURY DEMAND ........................................................................................................................ 159 -iii- Case 1:18-cv-09936-LGS Document 19 Filed 10/30/18 Page 5 of 164 Plaintiffs Jane Doe, Luke Loe, Richard Roe, and Mary Moe, on behalf of themselves and others similarly situated, allege, upon personal knowledge as to themselves and information and belief as to other matters, as follows: INTRODUCTION 1. This case is about four working-class Americans, and thousands more just like them, who were deliberately defrauded by Donald J. Trump, his family, and the corporation that bears their name. The Trumps conned each of these victims into giving up hundreds or thousands of dollars—losses that many experienced as devastating and life-altering. Surely
Recommended publications
  • Jessica Chastain
    FALL 2019 smagazineofficial.com JESSICA CHASTAIN FALL TAILORING DESIGN WITH PURPOSE SOFT-GLOSS BEAUTY $6.95 DISPLAY UNTIL NOVEMBER 18, 2019 THE LIST 02/ BEAUTY The ideas, personalities, and trends to know now. SPICE OF LIFE Offering a delightful array of fragrances, candles, bath and body products, and more, Maison Christian Dior is a go-to brand for perfume lovers looking to discover their signature scent. The latest addition to the family is Spice Blend: “The fragrant translation of an exotic image stemming from my childhood,” explains Dior Perfumer François Demachy. Featuring concentrated doses of spices from around the world—namely Madagascan black pepper, Indonesian nutmeg, Russian coriander, and Chinese cinnamon—the scent has an enticing base that mingles with ginger, cedar, and musk, revealing a rum absolute that is both warm and fresh. An homage to Christian Dior’s love of Cuba and its vibrant energy, the unisex fragrance embodies both masculine elegance and sophisticated femininity. Maison Christian Dior Spice Blend is available at Saks Fifth Avenue and dior.com. FOOD + DRINK 03/French Twist Situated in the 136-year-old C.H. Gooderham House, Maison Selby, an all-day-dining restaurant and bar, celebrates timeless French cooking with an elevated modern accent. The recognized heritage property, helmed by Oliver & Bonacini’s chefs Anthony Walsh and John Horne, focuses on old- school European techniques and Parisian-inspired nibbles. The thoughtfully curated menu serves a TIFF range of French fare, featuring perfectly executed classics like the tuna Niçoise salad and French onion EVENING THE SCORE soup. Accompanying the dining room, tucked away Based on Jessica Pressler’s article “The Hustlers at Scores”, which ran in New York magazine in 2015, Hustlers in the lower level, is an underground speakeasy tells the true account of a group of Manhattan strippers who entertain and swindle millions from their Wall Street for intimate post-dinner nightcaps.
    [Show full text]
  • Donald J Trump: Nh Ững Điều C Ần Bi Ết Vĩnh T Ường
    Th ời s ự Chính tr ị Mỹ Sưu t ầm - về Ông “Đô-la-Trâm” Donald J Trump: Nh ững Điều C ần Bi ết Vĩnh T ường Đúng v ậy! Có nhi ều ng ười b ảo r ằng tôi là th ường dân; tôi không c ần chính “ch ị” chính em gì c ả; tôi ch ỉ bầu cho b ất k ỳ ai trong đảng mà lâu nay tôi tin. Th ế có ngh ĩa là không c ần phán đoán, ch ọn lựa gì c ả vì đã có ng ười ch ọn s ẵn cho r ồi. Và b ầu c ử còn có ý ngh ĩa gì vì nó ch ẳng khác ở Vi ệt nam sau 1975 đến gi ờ! L ại có ng ười tin r ằng “th ường dân không làm chính tr ị”. Có đúng không n ếu nói r ằng ng ười dân không bao gi ờ ra kh ỏi xã h ội, không bao gi ờ ra kh ỏi sự chi phối sinh ho ạt hàng ngày trong khung c ảnh xã h ội d ưới th ể ch ế chính tr ị nh ất định mà họ đang s ống? N ếu câu tr ả lời là “Đúng” thì đã rõ m ỗi ng ười chúng ta không th ể không quan tâm đến v ấn đề chính tr ị, xã h ội chung quanh ta, tr ừ khi chúng ta t ừ bỏ hết nh ững gì thu ộc v ề chúng ta, đó chính là quy ền s ống an bình, th ịnh vượng và h ạnh phúc mà b ất k ỳ ai trong chúng ta c ũng đều hàng gi ờ đeo đuổi.
    [Show full text]
  • Gender & Society
    ~Draft: Schedule and Materials Subject to Revision~ GSWS 002: GENDER & SOCIETY Summer Session II July 1st-August 6th, 2021 Synchronous Zoom sessions will be held for conversation, review, and classroom community on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:00-11:00 am EST. All other course lectures, activities, and assessments will be asynchronous. Course Instructor: Alicia Meyer (she/her) Email: [email protected] Office Hours: by appointment via Zoom, chat session, or phone Course Description: This course will introduce students to the ways in which sex, gender, and sexuality mark our bodies, influence our perceptions of self and others, organize families and work like, delimit opportunities for individuals and groups of people, as well as impact the terms of local and transnational economic exchange. We will explore the ways in which sex, gender, and sexuality work with other markers of difference and social status such as race, age, nationality, and ability to further demarcate possibilities, freedoms, choices, and opportunities available to people. Required Texts: All reading assignments will be PDFs or other forms of electronic media made available through Canvas. There are several films and clips that we will watch that are available through Canvas and Van Pelt Library. Assignments and Evaluation: Attendance and Participation: 30% Attendance is required. If you need to miss a class, please reach out to me beforehand. You are permitted to take one absence, but, because this is an accelerated course, any further absences will result in a deduction of your final grade. If you have difficulties or are in a unique situation regarding time-zones, travel, quarantine, caregiving, work, or other challenges, please reach out to me ASAP so that we can create a plan together that will allow you to participate in the class.
    [Show full text]
  • Filed: New York County Clerk 08/24/2020 12:45 Pm Index No
    FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 08/24/2020 12:45 PM INDEX NO. 451685/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 11 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/24/2020 SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NEW YORK PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW Index No. _____________ YORK, by LETITIA JAMES, Attorney General of the State of New Motion Sequence _______ York, (REDACTED) Petitioner, -against- THE TRUMP ORGANIZATION, INC.; DJT HOLDINGS LLC; DJT HOLDINGS MANAGING MEMBER LLC; SEVEN SPRINGS LLC; ERIC TRUMP; CHARLES MARTABANO; MORGAN, LEWIS & BOCKIUS, LLP; and SHERI DILLON, Respondents. MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN SUPPORT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S SPECIAL PROCEEDING AND APPLICATION TO COMPEL RESPONDENTS TO COMPLY WITH INVESTIGATORY SUBPOENAS LETITIA JAMES Attorney General of the State of New York 28 Liberty Street New York, NY 10005 1 of 68 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 08/24/2020 12:45 PM INDEX NO. 451685/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 11 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/24/2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF AUTHORITIES ......................................................................................................... iii PRELIMINARY STATEMENT .....................................................................................................1 BACKGROUND .............................................................................................................................4 I. The Attorney General’s authority under Executive Law § 63(12). .....................................4 II. The Attorney General’s investigation. .................................................................................5 A. Mr.
    [Show full text]
  • Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 06/04/2021 10:43:23 AM
    Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 06/04/2021 10:43:23 AM 06/03/21 Thursday This material is distributed by Ghebi LLC on behalf of Federal State Unitary Enterprise Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency, and additional information is on file with the Department of Justice, Washington, District of Columbia. Beijing, Hanoi Agree to Establish Naval Hotline to Resolve Emergencies in South China Sea by Morgan Artvukhina While the two nations have a history of sometimes-violent border disputes, China and Vietnam have emphasized the increasing importance of political and economic cooperation since normalizing relations in 1991. Nonetheless, Washington has tried to pry Vietnam and other Southeast Asian nations away from working with China. Chinese and Vietnamese naval leaders have agreed to set up a naval hotline as part of a larger effort to defuse tensions in the South China Sea. This comes after their respective heads of state recently agreed to improve diplomatic and trade relations, too. Rear Admiral Tran Thanh Nghiem, Commander of the Vietnam People’s Navy, held an online talk with Admiral Shen Jinlong, Commander of the People's Liberation Army Navy last week to discuss military relations between the two socialist nations, which are sometimes fraught with dispute and confrontation over competing claims to parts of the South China Sea. According to the Vietnamese defense ministry’s official People’s Army Newspaper, “the two sides agreed to enhance the sharing of information related to situations at sea and issues of mutual concern, study the possibility of setting up a hotline to connect the two navies, and maintain the joint patrol mechanism in the Gulf of Tonkin.” The People’s Army Newspaper further notes that Nghiem hailed previous efforts at improving bilateral defense cooperation and the regular meetings between naval leaders, organization of patrols, and joint drills at sea.
    [Show full text]
  • A CAMPAIGN to DEFRAUD President Trump’S Apparent Campaign Finance Crimes, Cover-Up, and Conspiracy
    A CAMPAIGN TO DEFRAUD President Trump’s Apparent Campaign Finance Crimes, Cover-up, and Conspiracy Noah Bookbinder, Conor Shaw, and Gabe Lezra Noah Bookbinder is the Executive Director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). Previously, Noah has served as Chief Counsel for Criminal Justice for the United States Senate Judiciary Committee and as a corruption prosecutor in the United States Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section. Conor Shaw and Gabe Lezra are Counsel at CREW. The authors would like to thank Adam Rappaport, Jennifer Ahearn, Stuart McPhail, Eli Lee, Robert Maguire, Ben Chang, and Lilia Kavarian for their contributions to this report. citizensforethics.org · 1101 K St NW, Suite 201, Washington, DC 20005 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................................. 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................. 5 TABLE OF POTENTIAL CRIMINAL OFFENSES .............................................................................. 7 I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................... 8 A. Trump’s familiarity with federal laws regulating campaign contributions ...........................................8 B. Trump, Cohen, and Pecker’s hush money scheme.................................................................................... 10 C. AMI’s
    [Show full text]
  • New Cohen Tape Surfaces a Bigger Trump Fish by Timothy L
    New Cohen Tape Surfaces a Bigger Trump Fish By Timothy L. O'Brien Bloomberg.com July 25, 2018 Allen Weisselberg knows far more than the president’s former lawyer. Michael Cohen is not the man who knows all of Trump’s secrets. Photographer: Drew Angerer/Getty Images About two months before Election Day in 2016, Donald Trump and his former lawyer (and self-described “fixer”) Michael Cohen were chatting about how to convince a former Playboy model, Karen McDougal, to keep quiet about what she described as a long-term affair with the presidential candidate. “We’ll have to pay,” Cohen said, according to a recording of the conversation that CNN obtained and broadcast Tuesday night. “Pay with cash,” Trump appears to respond. “No, no,” Cohen says. Earlier in the conversation Cohen suggested that he “open a company for the transfer of all of that info” to the National Enquirer and its parent company, American Media Inc. AMI’s chairman, David Pecker, is a friend of the president and he is also referred to on the tape. The Enquirer had already purchased McDougal’s account of her affair with Trump earlier in 2016 and then never published it. Trump and Cohen appear to be discussing a second payment to McDougal (and there is no indication that it was ever made). “I’ve spoken to Allen Weisselberg about how to set the whole thing up,” Cohen tells Trump. “So, I’m all over that. And, I spoke to Allen about it.” Weisselberg isn’t a bit player in Trumplandia and his emergence on the Cohen- Trump recording – as someone possibly facilitating a scheme apparently meant to disguise a payoff – should worry the president.
    [Show full text]
  • The Wit and Wisdom of Donald J. Trump - Volume One : 8X10 College Ruled - 200 Blank Notebook Pages Pdf, Epub, Ebook
    THE WIT AND WISDOM OF DONALD J. TRUMP - VOLUME ONE : 8X10 COLLEGE RULED - 200 BLANK NOTEBOOK PAGES PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Buckskin Creek Journals | 202 pages | 11 Aug 2018 | Createspace Independent Publishing Platform | 9781725123359 | English | none The Wit and Wisdom of Donald J. Trump - Volume One : 8x10 College Ruled - 200 Blank Notebook Pages PDF Book Molly Olmstead: Conservatives are already playing up hypothetical anti-Catholic bias against Amy Coney Barrett : Because we all know how concerned conservatives are when it comes to prejudice against minorities? Matties, You are not suspicious of Biden and all the other globalist but suspicious of Trump? Most of them lack context, and may err by omission, but they're not fake news. Romney too wants to reach across the aisle. As former KGB and Washington swamp know now. I have a sister who now is looking for work in Canada because of this election, as well as many other twitter people I follow. The communities welcomed him. Dollar Index at that time, I suggest. To Mr. Read the thread!! But minority rule is on the ballot. The illusion of governance overshadows the chaos in the nuts and bolts of implementation situated in the agencies charged with making it happen. The decision is simple for me. Ever since, the right has mounted an hysterical campaign to take away the rights granted by the Court -- especially abortion, but also the constitutional right to privacy free choice is based on -- and to secure ever greater privileges for the rich as evidenced most clearly by the Court's recent claim that unlimited campaign spending is protected "free speech".
    [Show full text]
  • All of the People, All of the Time: an Analysis of Public Reaction to the Use of Deception by Political Elites
    All of the People, All of the Time: An Analysis of Public Reaction to the Use of Deception by Political Elites Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Jakob A. Miller, B.A. Graduate Program in Political Science The Ohio State University 2017 Dissertation Committee: Thomas Nelson, Advisor Michael Neblo Nathaniel Swigger Copyright by Jakob A. Miller 2017 Abstract Despite the public's uniformly dismal assessment of politicians' honesty, they react by punishing some offences and seemingly ignoring others. I use data from multiple survey experiments as well as an examination of electoral polling data to show that public reaction to accusations of deception against politicians is guided by the principle of expectancy violations. I find that when deception is expected, it does not draw cognitive focus from members of the public, thereby causing the public to punish only lies they find unusual. In this way, a reputation as a liar may produce a sort of inoculation effect: that is, the fact that a politician is often accused of lying may contribute to public tolerance of them continuing to do so. ii Dedication To my family, for their unfailing love and support. Bless you. iii Acknowledgements I would first like to thank my committee. Thomas Nelson helped me to sort my ideas into an organized whole, and Michael Neblo and Nathaniel Swigger provided vital feedback and encouragement. I would also like to thank William Minozzi, who helped me get this project started in the first place.
    [Show full text]
  • Case 1:17-Cv-00458-RA Document 28 Filed 05/10/17 Page 1 of 68
    Case 1:17-cv-00458-RA Document 28 Filed 05/10/17 Page 1 of 68 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN WASHINGTON, RESTAURANT OPPORTUNITIES CENTERS (ROC) UNITED, INC., JILL PHANEUF, and ERIC GOODE, Plaintiffs, Civil Action No. 1:17-cv-00458-RA v. DONALD J. TRUMP, in his official capacity as President of the United States of America, Defendant. SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT Case 1:17-cv-00458-RA Document 28 Filed 05/10/17 Page 2 of 68 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. NATURE OF THE ACTION .......................................................................................... 1 II. PARTIES, JURISDICTION, AND VENUE ................................................................... 8 III. LEGAL BACKGROUND ............................................................................................... 11 IV. RELEVANT FACTS ....................................................................................................... 14 A. Defendant’s Foreign Emoluments Clause Violations ........................................... 14 New York’s Trump Tower .......................................................................... 16 Washington, D.C.’s Trump International Hotel ......................................... 18 Trump World Tower ................................................................................... 23 Gratuitous Chinese Trademarks .................................................................. 26 International Versions and Distribution of “The Apprentice” and Its
    [Show full text]
  • Congressional Overspeech
    ARTICLES CONGRESSIONAL OVERSPEECH Josh Chafetz* Political theater. Spectacle. Circus. Reality show. We are constantly told that, whatever good congressional oversight is, it certainly is not those things. Observers and participants across the ideological and partisan spectrums use those descriptions as pejorative attempts to delegitimize oversight conducted by their political opponents or as cautions to their own allies of what is to be avoided. Real oversight, on this consensus view, is about fact-finding, not about performing for an audience. As a result, when oversight is done right, it is both civil and consensus-building. While plenty of oversight activity does indeed involve bipartisan attempts to collect information and use that information to craft policy, this Article seeks to excavate and theorize a different way of using oversight tools, a way that focuses primarily on their use as a mechanism of public communication. I refer to such uses as congressional overspeech. After briefly describing the authority, tools and methods, and consensus understanding of oversight in Part I, this Article turns to an analysis of overspeech in Part II. The three central features of overspeech are its communicativity, its performativity, and its divisiveness, and each of these is analyzed in some detail. Finally, Part III offers two detailed case studies of overspeech: the Senate Munitions Inquiry of the mid-1930s and the McCarthy and Army-McCarthy Hearings of the early 1950s. These case studies not only demonstrate the dynamics of overspeech in action but also illustrate that overspeech is both continuous across and adaptive to different media environments. Moreover, the case studies illustrate that overspeech can be used in the service of normatively good, normatively bad, and * Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center.
    [Show full text]
  • Case 1:18-Cv-09936-LGS Document 97 Filed 07/24/19 Page 1 of 26
    Case 1:18-cv-09936-LGS Document 97 Filed 07/24/19 Page 1 of 26 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK --------------------------------------------------------------X : 7/24/2019 JANE DOE, et al., : Plaintiffs, : : 18 Civ. 9936 (LGS) -against- : : ORDER THE TRUMP CORPORATION, et al., : Defendants. : ------------------------------------------------------------- X LORNA G. SCHOFIELD, District Judge: This case concerns an alleged fraudulent scheme to promote certain third-party companies offering multi-level marketing and training programs. The Amended Complaint (the “Complaint”) asserts racketeering and conspiracy claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1961 et seq. (“RICO”). The Complaint also asserts various state law claims. Defendants Donald J. Trump (“Trump”), The Trump Corporation, Donald Trump, Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump move to dismiss the Complaint for failure to state a claim and lack of subject matter jurisdiction under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6). As discussed below, Defendants’ motion to dismiss is granted in part. The RICO claims are dismissed because the Complaint does not sufficiently plead that Defendants’ conduct was the proximate cause of Plaintiffs’ losses. Defendants’ motion to dismiss the state law claims is denied because the Court has subject matter jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d) (“CAFA”). BACKGROUND The following facts are taken from the Complaint and are accepted as true only for purposes of this motion. See Doe v. Columbia Univ., 831 F.3d 46, 48 (2d Cir. 2016). Case 1:18-cv-09936-LGS Document 97 Filed 07/24/19 Page 2 of 26 A.
    [Show full text]