Casino mogul Phil Ruffin identified himself as the Kansan businessman referenced during Michael Cohen’s hearing before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday.
Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., asked Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, who paid a $25 million Trump University settlement in 2018, mentioning, “There’s some reference to a businessman in Kansas being involved in that.”
Cohen insisted he did not know who the individual was.
But during an interview with the Kansas City Star, Ruffin said, “Yes, I am” the billionaire she referenced.
However, Ruffin, a billionaire who has close ties to Trump and co-owns the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, said he didn’t necessarily pay for the settlement directly.
“He had $28 million in back fees that he never collected,” Ruffin said. “The hotel paid him [what] was owed to him. I don’t know what he did … It was his money.”
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco finalized the settlement in February 2018, stemming from legal action taken by former students of the online college who alleged that Trump knowingly defrauded them out of tens of thousands of dollars during their enrollment in the online real estate and business program.
