Donald Trump’s three oldest children — Don Jr., Ivanka, and Eric — have been dropped from a fraud lawsuit in New York after their depositions “made clear” that the failed former president was the “architect, principal actor, and largest beneficiary of the fraudulent scheme.”
The lawsuit, which was filed five years ago, alleges that the ex-president deliberately misled viewers of “Celebrity Apprentice” by hawking investments in a desktop video phone that never materialized, despite Trump swearing it was to be the next big thing in telecommunications, according to Bloomberg.
As part of the agreement, depositions testimony from the three children — who worked closely with their father while his TV show aired — can still be used at trial. The former president and his company, Trump Corp., remain defendants.
Roberta Kaplan, who serves as attorney for the plaintiffs, remarked, “That is why we proposed this stipulation in the first place: Donald J. Trump and the company he used to carry out the scheme, The Trump Corporation, are the right defendants as we move toward a jury trial,”
Clifford S. Robert, who represents the Trump children, said he was pleased by the news:
“It’s about time. They never should have been in this baseless lawsuit in the first place.”
The video phone was repeatedly pushed by Trump on “Celebrity Apprentice” but smartphones later made it obsolete.
In ads for the video phone, Trump claims, “Trust me — it’s changing everything. The absolute truth is that this technology will be present in every home within the next several years.”
He was paid nearly $9 million over ten years to promote the device, which was made by ACN Opportunity LLC.
The twice-impeached former president and his three oldest kids are still facing fraud charges filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
