{"slug":"atlantic-city-contractors-wage-theft","title":"Atlantic City Contractor Fraud: Systematic Nonpayment of Small Businesses and Workers","date":"1985-01-01","lastUpdated":"2016-06-09","description":"USA Today found that Trump and his businesses were defendants in at least 3,500 lawsuits over 30 years, with a significant pattern of refusing to pay contractors, vendors, and workers who had completed work on Trump projects — particularly in Atlantic City. Small business owners and contractors who built Trump's casinos and towers described being stiffed after completion of their work.","summary":"USA Today and other outlets documented a decades-long pattern in which Trump companies refused to pay contractors, vendors, and workers after completion of their work. Affected businesses included a dishware supplier, a plumbing contractor, a piano bar operator, and hundreds of others. Trump's negotiating strategy, described by associates, was to refuse payment and force small businesses to accept pennies on the dollar rather than face litigation.","category":"corruption","severity":"major","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/06/09/donald-trump-unpaid-bills-republican-president-lawsuits/85297274/","title":"Hundreds allege Donald Trump doesn't pay his bills","publisher":"USA Today"},{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/10/us/politics/donald-trump-atlantic-city.html","title":"Donald Trump's Business Decisions in Atlantic City Echo in Battered City","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/trump-s-companies-have-been-involved-more-3-500-legal-cases-n601486","title":"Trump's Companies Involved in More Than 3,500 Legal Cases","publisher":"NBC News"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/donald-trump-stiffed-contractors-and-vendors-leading-to-hundreds-of-legal-battles/2016/06/09/26c9df44-2cbb-11e6-9b37-42985f6a265c_story.html","title":"Donald Trump stiffed contractors and vendors leading to hundreds of legal battles","publisher":"The Washington Post"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["wage-theft","contractor-fraud","Atlantic-City","pre-presidency","corruption","small-business"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"1985-01-01","title":"Pattern begins with early Atlantic City projects","summary":"Contractors who work on Trump's Atlantic City casino projects begin reporting nonpayment or pressure to accept reduced settlements after completing their work."},{"date":"1990-11-21","title":"Trump Taj Mahal bankruptcy","summary":"The Trump Taj Mahal files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, leaving hundreds of contractors, bondholders, and workers with unpaid claims. This is the first of six Trump business bankruptcies, all of which left unpaid debts to smaller creditors."},{"date":"2016-06-09","title":"USA Today publishes major investigation","summary":"USA Today publishes a comprehensive investigation documenting that Trump and his businesses were defendants in at least 3,500 lawsuits over 30 years, with hundreds involving allegations of nonpayment. The newspaper speaks with dozens of affected contractors."},{"date":"2016-06-09","title":"Washington Post documents specific cases","summary":"The Washington Post publishes profiles of specific contractors: a dishwasher supplier owed $75,000, a piano bar operator, a plumbing contractor owed $1 million, and an architect who spent years fighting for payment. Multiple contractors say they were told directly that payment would not be made in full."}],"location":{"name":"Atlantic City, NJ / New York, NY","lat":39.3643,"lng":-74.4229},"custom":{"era":"pre-presidency","posture":"judicial-finding","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[{"statute":"International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights","article":"Article 7","provision":"Right to just and favorable conditions of work and fair remuneration"}],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"Hundreds of small businesses and individual workers who completed work for Trump and were not paid, or were forced to accept reduced settlements after threats of litigation","perpetrators":"Donald Trump; Trump Organization; Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts","structuredVictims":[{"group":"Small business owners and contractors who built Trump properties and were not paid","status":"Documented in 3,500+ lawsuits over 30 years"}],"structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"Directed and personally approved non-payment strategies","institution":"Trump Organization"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2016-06-09","summary":"Updated with USA Today and Washington Post investigations."}]}}