Advertisement Pittsburgh woman says she's out $200,000 after attending Trump University Coach with criminal record steered her into Ponzi scheme, woman says Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has been accused of defrauding thousands of students who attended Trump University.Action News Investigates has learned a Pittsburgh woman's allegation that she lost more than $200,000 after attending a seminar licensed by Trump University.VIDEO: Watch Paul Van Osdol's reportMelissa Norris of Franklin Park said she is still trying to recover from the huge financial hit she took.In a promotional video, Trump said, “At Trump University we teach success. That's what it's all about. Success -- it's going to happen to you.”Norris believed Trump.“I felt this was somebody I could trust and I thought any curriculum he wrote would be beneficial to me,” she said.In 2007, she spent $17,248 for a Trump University seminar in Florida.The seminar was run by Prosper Learning, a company licensed by Trump University.Her tuition covered a coach assigned to help her find real estate deals. Cary Beagley, of Utah, was her coach. She wanted to invest in Pittsburgh real estate, but she said Beagley tried to get her to buy properties in Spain.“And that's when I became very concerned,” Norris said.Still, she trusted Beagley because of Trump, who at the time said of Trump University's teachers:“These are all people that are hand-picked by me.”She said when Beagley told her to put her money into a company called Safevest, she did it. Eventually, she invested $230,000.But just six months later, the SEC called Safevest a fraud and a Ponzi scheme and won a court order shutting it down.Safevest ended up bankrupt, and Norris lost all her money.“I lost a lot of money because I trusted this organization and I have nothing back. I will not get anything back,” she said.Action News Investigates learned that when Beagley was coaching Norris he had a criminal record including convictions for theft, drug distribution and sex solicitation. In fact he was still on federal probation for the drug case while he was working for Trump University. Also, he had filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy.Norris knew none of that until Action News Investigates told her.“I want to throw up right now,” she said.In 2011, three years after Norris lost her money, the state of Utah filed securities fraud charges against Beagley. He was accused of taking $150,000 who, like Norris, he coached in Trump University-licensed seminars. Beagley was also accused of lying about his criminal history. He pleaded no contest to securities fraud and was ordered to pay restitution.But Norris has gotten no restitution.In 2008, she sued Trump University and Beagley in Allegheny County, but her case was thrown out because of a clause requiring her to arbitrate any dispute in Utah..In that case, Beagley's own attorney called him "an employee of Trump."But Trump attorney Jill Martin said Trump University and Trump "did not ever hire Beagley or engage him as a contractor."So she said Trump University had no knowledge of Beagley's criminal history.Action News Investigates also contacted Beagley but he did not respond.Ex-Trump University students are now suing Trump in a California class action case.In a separate lawsuit, New York's attorney general has accused Trump of defrauding thousands of students out of $40 million.“This was not a university. They didn't get any secrets. They didn't get any mentors. It was a scam from beginning to end,” said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.Trump has fired back, citing surveys from students showing they were satisfied.“We have 98 percent of the people who took the courses have reports like this,” Trump said in a video released on YouTube.He is promising to fight his accusers in court.“It would have been less complicated for me to settle but I'll easily win this case when it comes to court. I look forward to it,” Trump said. Norris wanted to put her Trump University experience behind her but after Trump came close to securing the Republican nomination she felt compelled to speak out.“I at least have to say, ‘Wait a minute, this is the other side of this guy you don't know’,“ she said.Contrary to what Trump said in that promotional video, he admitted recently that he did not hand pick the teachers and coaches at Trump University.A trial date in the California class action case has been set for November -- after the election. Trump is expected to testify.