Photograph © Adrian Jones Stephen Gilpin was born in Pittston, PA. He has taught real estate for more than a decade, and has initiated and sealed numerous deals in Florida, New York, Boston and elsewhere. He lives in New York City.

from the book:

. . . . After pouring myself a double bourbon on the rocks, I sat down and realized that I had a tough choice to make. As a Trump University insider, I was either going to testify for the State and give evidence against Trump University, or I was going to go with Donald Trump and support the university. Once, I had admired Donald Trump and thought the school could have been fixed. I also wasn’t sure that the state’s lawsuit was justified. To me, unhappy students—and there were many of them—should have been given refunds, but was it a criminal case?

I suppose I believed there had been a glimmer of purpose behind what we had been doing at Trump U, because it had been my job to attempt to deliver real knowledge and real value to the students. I had been the token real estate expert and lovable knucklehead among the many salespeople and motivational speakers aggressively selling the Trump message of boundless wealth. Aside from Donald Trump himself, for three years, I was just about the only guy in the organization who had substantial, down-to-earth real estate experience.

I talked to Schick again. He pressured me to go with Trump. “Trust me, son,” he said. “You don’t want the legal fees that you’re going to have to pay if you go by yourself. You’re better off going with me. I’ll keep you clean. I’ll keep you out of jail.”

“Whoa,” I said. “Jail? What the hell could I go to jail for?”

Being a witness was one thing, but how could I get incarcerated for this mess? It was not my responsibility. I was a W-2 employee. I didn’t start the company. I didn’t manage it. I was paid by Trump University. The company had gone under, but not by my hand. If there was criminality, it wasn’t from me. I had been trying to help the students.

Photograph © Adrian Jones Stephen Gilpin was born in Pittston, PA. He has taught real estate for more than a decade, and has initiated and sealed numerous deals in Florida, New York, Boston and elsewhere. He lives in New York City.

from the book:

. . . . After pouring myself a double bourbon on the rocks, I sat down and realized that I had a tough choice to make. As a Trump University insider, I was either going to testify for the State and give evidence against Trump University, or I was going to go with Donald Trump and support the university. Once, I had admired Donald Trump and thought the school could have been fixed. I also wasn’t sure that the state’s lawsuit was justified. To me, unhappy students—and there were many of them—should have been given refunds, but was it a criminal case?

I suppose I believed there had been a glimmer of purpose behind what we had been doing at Trump U, because it had been my job to attempt to deliver real knowledge and real value to the students. I had been the token real estate expert and lovable knucklehead among the many salespeople and motivational speakers aggressively selling the Trump message of boundless wealth. Aside from Donald Trump himself, for three years, I was just about the only guy in the organization who had substantial, down-to-earth real estate experience.

I talked to Schick again. He pressured me to go with Trump. “Trust me, son,” he said. “You don’t want the legal fees that you’re going to have to pay if you go by yourself. You’re better off going with me. I’ll keep you clean. I’ll keep you out of jail.”

“Whoa,” I said. “Jail? What the hell could I go to jail for?”

Being a witness was one thing, but how could I get incarcerated for this mess? It was not my responsibility. I was a W-2 employee. I didn’t start the company. I didn’t manage it. I was paid by Trump University. The company had gone under, but not by my hand. If there was criminality, it wasn’t from me. I had been trying to help the students.