- Donald Trump and his company are being sued as part of a class action lawsuit.
- According to the suit, Trump deceived investors into backing ACN (an MLM telecommunications firm).
- The company’s flagship product, a “videophone”, was eventually surpassed by smartphones.
Donald Trump was recently deposed in a class-action lawsuit alleging that he deceived investors into financial backing a multilevel marketing company that had once sold a “videophone”.
In October, he was already deposed. According to Bloomberg, which cited an anonymous source who was familiar with the matter.
The lawsuit, filed in 2018, names Trump, his company Trump Corporation, and his three oldest children — Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and Ivanka Trump — as defendants.
According to the report, Trump’s family and company received secret payments totaling “millions of Dollars to promote and endorse ACN,” a multi-level marketing company specializing in telecommunications.
The lawsuit claimed that Trump gave glowing endorsements to the company in exchange for the payments.
Trump assured prospective investors that he “Trump” would not tell them what to do.[y]According to court documents, you have an excellent opportunity at ACN without taking the risks that most entrepreneurs must take.”
ACN’s flagship product, which Trump supported to ensure the company’s financial viability, was a “videophone”. According to the lawsuit, the product was “essentially” a desktop, wired telephone that included a webcam and video screen. It was also compatible only with ACN subscriptions and other phones that required internet access.
Trump’s spokesperson did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
“Trump repeatedly praised ACN’s ‘great product’ — its ‘new ACN Video Phone.’ But ACN’s videophone was anything but great — the product was doomed almost from the outset,” the lawsuit said.
The videophone was soon replaced by smartphones that could videochat. Skype introduced video calls in 2006 and Apple would popularize videochat by installing a front facing camera in its iPhone by 2010.
Insider was told by Roberta Kaplan (one of the lawyers representing the investors) that she is pleased with the evidence she has gathered to prove their clients’ claims. “We are keen to get this case to trial as soon possible.”
Kaplan also represents E. Jean Carroll in a lawsuit against Trump. This suit claims that he Carroll was sexually assaulted in a departmental storeIn the 90s.
