The Trumps spent more than a decade operating a large and complex enterprise designed to cheat needy people seeking to invest in their education or start a business, according to the complaint. Victims lost hundreds or thousands of dollars each -- “losses that many experienced as devastating and life-altering,” according to the complaint.

The suit by two men and two women identified only by pseudonyms comes just eight days before midterm elections that could cost the Republican Party control of at least one house of Congress. With detailed allegations of wrongdoing, it could refocus voter attention on the president’s private businesses and earlier claims that he cheated thousands.

The Trump Organization said the plaintiffs and “their political activist attorneys” timed the filing of the 164-page complaint for partisan advantage. “The motivations here are as plain as day,” the Trump Organization said in a statement to the New York Times, which first reported the suit. The company called the allegations “completely meritless.”

Calls to the company weren’t immediately returned.

Trump University $25 Million Deal Heads Off Fraud Trial

In the proposed class-action complaint, the Trumps are accused of helping to lure investors to a multi-level marketing company called ACN Inc., which allegedly promised business opportunities with little risk and was widely promoted on Trump’s "The Celebrity Apprentice."

ACN’s flagship product was a “doomed” desktop video phone that could only connect calls between two ACN customers and which was quickly eclipsed by services like Skype and the advent of smartphones, according to the complaint.

From 2005 to 2015, Trump endorsed ACN in exchange for millions of dollars in "secret payments," despite telling prospective investors that his endorsement was "not for any money," the suit claims. Trump said in promotions that participants have a "great opportunity" without "any of the risks most entrepreneurs have to take," according to the complaint.

ACN was "massively boosted" after being featured on Trump’s reality-TV show, while ACN made it "crystal clear" that Trump’s endorsement helped attract investors and customers alike, according to the suit.

ACN paid Trump $1.35 million for three separate speeches in May and June of 2014 and February of the following year, according to his 2015 federal financial disclosure form.

The lawsuit is Doe v. The Trump Corp., 18-cv-9936, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

(Published by Bloomberg, October 29, 2018)