{"slug":"trump-pre-presidency-contractor-nonpayment","title":"Systematic Nonpayment of Contractors and Vendors: Hundreds of Unpaid Workers","date":"1980-01-01","lastUpdated":"2016-06-09","description":"Throughout his business career, Trump and the Trump Organization routinely refused to pay contractors and vendors who had completed work, forcing them to litigate, settle for less than owed, or write off the debt. A 2016 USA Today investigation found more than 3,500 lawsuits involving Trump and his companies, with a significant portion involving unpaid bills to small businesses: piano suppliers, painters, bartenders, real estate brokers, waiters, plumbers, and hundreds of others who performed work and were not paid. Trump's strategy was documented: dispute the quality of work after completion, offer partial payment, and exploit the legal costs of litigation against opponents with fewer resources.","summary":"The USA Today investigation identified at least 200 contractors, companies, and individuals who claimed Trump failed to pay them for their work. Victims included small businesses that were left near bankruptcy by the nonpayments. A Venetian glass supplier from the Trump Tower lobby renovation said Trump reduced his payment by $350,000 and told him to sue; the supplier could not afford protracted litigation. Dishwashers and waiters at Trump's Atlantic City casinos described being denied wages and having to sue to recover even small amounts. Trump's lawyers routinely challenged the quality of work performed, even for long-completed projects, and offered settlements far below what was owed.","category":"corruption","severity":"major","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/06/09/donald-trump-unpaid-bills-contractors/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-contractors.html","title":"Donald Trump's Business Practices Leave Unpaid Bills","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-refused-to-pay-contractors/2016/06/09/story.html","title":"How Trump refused to pay contractors and vendors","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/trump-contractors-unpaid-bills-usa-today","title":"Trump unpaid bills: hundreds of victims documented","publisher":"The Associated Press"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["contractor-nonpayment","pre-presidency","corruption","small-business","litigation","wage-theft","USA-Today"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"1980-01-01","title":"Pattern begins — early Trump Organization projects","summary":"Contractor nonpayment claims emerge from Trump's early New York construction projects. The pattern will continue across decades and across multiple business categories: construction, hospitality, golf courses, and personal services."},{"date":"2016-06-09","title":"USA Today investigation — 200+ unpaid contractor claims documented","summary":"USA Today publishes an investigation identifying at least 3,500 lawsuits involving Trump, with at least 200 involving claims from contractors and vendors who said they were not paid for completed work. Specific cases are documented across multiple industries and states."}],"location":{"name":"New York, NY / Atlantic City, NJ","lat":40.7128,"lng":-74.006},"custom":{"era":"pre-presidency","posture":"reported","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"Hundreds of small business owners, contractors, and individual workers who performed work and were not paid; businesses driven toward bankruptcy by unpaid Trump invoices; workers who lost wages and could not afford the cost of litigation to recover them","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"Owner and principal of Trump Organization; personally directed or approved strategies for refusing payment and offering reduced settlements to contractors; benefited from unpaid labor and services","institution":"Trump Organization"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2016-06-09","summary":"Based on USA Today June 2016 investigation."}]}}