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Trump refused to pay hundreds of workers: Report

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump © AFP

The presumptive US Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, has reportedly refused to pay hundreds of people who worked for him in the past.

According to an investigation by a USA Today network, the workers, including carpenters, dishwashers, painters, even Trump’s lawyers, alleged they were not paid for their work at Trump companies.

The probe says Trump has been involved in more than 3,500 lawsuits over the past three decades.

A large number of the lawsuits belong to ordinary Americans; among them a cabinet-builder, Edward Friel Jr. who landed a $400,000 contract to build the bases for slot machines, registration desks, bars and other cabinets at Harrah's at Trump Plaza.

Friel finished the work in 1984 and submitted its final bill to the general contractor for the Trump Organization, the resort’s builder.

His son, Paul, who was the firm’s accountant, however, said he remembers the amount of money more than 30 years later, because “the money never came.”

“That began the demise of the Edward J. Friel Company… which has been around since my grandfather,” he said.

Paul Friel said a dispute with one of Donald Trump's companies in Atlantic City caused his father’s company to be blacklisted. (Photo courtesy of Florida Today)

The investigation reviews at least 60 lawsuits belonging to people who have claimed that Trump and his businessmen refused to pay them for their work. Among them are a dishwasher in Florida; a glass company in New Jersey as well as a carpet company.

A plumber, painters, 48 waiters, dozens of bartenders and other hourly workers at Trump’s resorts and clubs are also among the plaintiffs.

According to the report, real estate brokers, who sold Trump’s properties as well as several law firms, claimed that they were owed money from the real estate mogul.

In an interview with USA Today, Trump, however, shrugged off the lawsuits and other claims of non-payment, saying, “If a company or worker he hires isn’t paid fully, it’s because The Trump Organization was unhappy with the work.”

“Let’s say that they do a job that’s not good, or a job that they didn’t finish, or a job that was way late,” Trump was quoted as saying. “I’ll deduct from their contract, absolutely. That’s what the country should be doing.”

Trump, a billionaire businessman from New York, has cast himself as a protector of workers and jobs. “No matter who you are, we're going to protect your job,” He said on Tuesday.


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