Donald Trump has reversed course and agreed to pay $US25 million ($34 million) to settle a series of lawsuits stemming from his defunct for-profit education venture, Trump University, putting to rest fraud allegations by former students, which have dogged him for years.

The settlement was announced by the New York attorney general on Friday, 10 days before one of the cases, a federal class-action lawsuit in San Diego, was to be heard by a jury. The deal, if approved, averts a potentially embarrassing predicament: a president-elect on trial, and possibly even taking the stand in his own defense, while scrambling to build his incoming administration.

The agreement wraps together the outstanding Trump University litigation, including two federal class-action cases in San Diego, and a separate lawsuit by Eric T. Schneiderman, the New York attorney general. The complaints alleged students were cheated out of thousands of dollars in tuition through deceptive claims about what they would learn and high-pressure sales tactics.

"I am pleased that under the terms of this settlement, every victim will receive restitution and that Donald Trump will pay up to $US1 million in penalties to the state of New York for violating state education laws," Schneiderman said in a statement.

The settlement of the litigation marks a reversal from Trump, who has rejected the allegations and vowed to fight the lawsuits, asserting students filled out evaluations showing they were mostly happy with what they learned in seminars. When political opponents pressed him on the claims during the campaign, Trump doubled down, saying he would eventually reopen Trump University.

But the posture of Trump and his legal team appeared to soften soon after his November 8 election. At a hearing last week, Daniel Petrocelli, a lawyer for Trump, expressed interest in moving toward a settlement. Trump's lawyers were seeking to delay the trial in one of the California cases until after his January 20 inauguration, while also requesting he be allowed to testify on video.

Trump University, which operated from 2004 to 2010, included free introductory seminars across the country, focusing largely on real estate investing and learning Trump's secrets.