A brief history of Trump's small-time swindles

[marble falls]

A brief history of Trump's small-time swindles

A certain commander in chief has a long history of being accused of screwing over the little guy ...

https://theweek.com/articles/783976/brief-history-trumps-smalltime-swindles

Jeff Spross
By Jeff Spross
published 11 July 2018

https://theweek.com/articles/783976/brief-history-trumps-smalltime-swindles

-snip-

1. Trump's personal driver

This is the latest entry in Trump's ledger: Noel Cintron, 59, says he worked as a chauffeur for Trump and his family for 25 years. On top of a mammoth unpaid overtime bill — 3,300 hours in the last six years — Cintron says he only got a raise twice after 2003: to $68,000 in 2006, and then to $75,000 in 2010. The second bump came with a requirement that Cintron give up his health benefits. All told, Cintron is suing Trump for at least $350,000 in damages.

2. A Philadelphia cabinet maker

Edward Friel Jr. owned a family business that harked back to the 1940s. During the Atlantic City boom four decades later, he landed a $400,000 contract to make slot machines, bars, desks, and other furniture for Harrah's at Trump Plaza. But Trump refused to pay the final bill of around $84,000. Friel's son suspected that Trump also used his clout in the industry to block the company from getting other Atlantic City contracts. Friel had to file for bankruptcy a few years later.

3. A paint seller and event workers in Florida

After putting in long hours for a special event at Trump National Doral, a Miami resort, 48 servers had to sue for unpaid overtime. The settlements averaged around $800 per worker, but went as high as $3,000 in one case. On top of that, a paint shop owner named Juan Carlos Enriquez also sued Trump's business, claiming he never got the final payment for a paint shipment to the same resort. In 2017, after a three-year legal fight, a court found in Enriquez's favor, and ordered Trump's company to pay the final $32,000, plus $300,000 in legal fees.

4. A drapery business in Las Vegas

Back in 2007, Larry Walters got an order for over $700,000 of curtains, pillow covers, and bedspreads for Trump's hotel in Sin City. Walters said additional orders grew the job to $1.2 million, but the developer, a joint venture LLC called Trump Ruffin, only paid $553,000. Eventually, Walters responded by halting work and keeping the remaining fabric as collateral. Trump Ruffin sued, and sheriff's deputies actually showed up at Walters' business to take the fabric away. Knowing they could drag the legal fight out, Walters eventually settled for $823,000 — about $380,000 short of what he said he was owed. He closed the business in 2011.

-snip-

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According to court records there are 60 lawsuits already filed, along a large numer of liens, judgments, and actions instituted by the Federal govt filings, from contractors claiming unpaid invoices. USA Today claims 24 violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act since 2005 for failing to pay overtime or minimum wages.

[duncang]

1. Yet, he still declared bankruptcy on the casino.

And he still lost money over a lot of his dealings.

Edit:
He also scammed an architect that almost ruined the architect by not paying. I think it was on Taj Majal also.

[marble falls]

2. Bill Clinton saved his ass once from bringing down Citibank when it held a billion dollars of TFG'd debt ...

... that was seemingly going to have TFG go into default on, by having the US government cover any loss over that debt.

This was at a time that because of the great Bill Clinton economy everybody on Wall Street was making money hand over fist, and TFG was losing money on two casinos, and tried to sue Merv Griffin (of all people to have been in the resort casino business) because he felt he got gyped. Lost that lawsuit, too.

[IbogaProject]

3. He got a huge payout via a secured loan

He pulled those scams at his Taj Mahal casino and he walked away with a huge payout. I can't believe anyone in the Deleware Valley (Philadelphia metro region) would ever support him after that. I've hated him since that happened over 30 years ago.

[no_hypocrisy]

4. Taj Mahal in Atlantic City.

Heard this thirdhand.

Trump hired a general contractor for construction of the Taj Mahal, a casino he envisioned as the "Eighth Wonder of the World". And the general contractor hired a variety of subcontractors, e.g., plumbing, electricity, floor installers, etc. And the subcontractors did their work to specifications. And the general contractor paid all of them out of his own funds.

But Trump refused to pay the general contractor. And the general contractor went out of business.