Three Times Donald Trump Made Millions By Screwing Over Hundreds Of People

Published April 6, 2016
Updated February 5, 2018

Trump Ocean Resort Baja (Baja, Mexico)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQPc166SbP8

The Trump Ocean Resort Baja carried a name with connotations of sun, sand, the tropics — a true paradise.

The condo-hotel was planned to be constructed just south of Tijuana, Mexico, only a 30-minute drive from downtown San Diego. It was going to be a 526-suite high-rise on 17 acres, complete with luxury amenities.

Interested parties could guarantee their spot in the opulent building by placing a down payment of 30 percent of the final suite-ownership price — which spanned from $300,000 to $3 million.

According to Trump, at a 2006 sales reception, Trump Baja was to “redefine the standard of premier property ownership and service excellence for all of Northern Mexico.”

The Trump-licensed building, however, soon floated belly up on the Mexican shore.

As he always does, Trump maintained that even though companies used his licensed brand name, he was not responsible for paying back the people who invested in the building. In this case, those investments totaled $32.2 million.

Donald Isbell, one of the Baja condo buyers suing Trump, lost $147,000. He told The New York Times: “I have come to the conclusion that what I did wrong was to trust Donald Trump.”

author
Nickolaus Hines
author
Nickolaus Hines graduated with a Bachelor's in journalism from Auburn University, and his writing has appeared in Men's Journal, Inverse, and VinePair.
editor
John Kuroski
editor
John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of interest include modern history and true crime.
Cite This Article
Hines, Nickolaus. "Three Times Donald Trump Made Millions By Screwing Over Hundreds Of People." AllThatsInteresting.com, April 6, 2016, https://allthatsinteresting.com/donald-trump-fraud. Accessed April 24, 2024.