![]() They are also central to 20 articles of impeachment overwhelmingly approved by the GOP-led state House of Representatives. ![]() The allegations by Paxton’s staff prompted an FBI investigation that in February was taken over by the Justice Department’s Washington-based Public Integrity Section. The next year, eight of Paxton ’s top deputies reported the attorney general to the FBI on allegations of bribery and abuse of office, including for hiring an outside lawyer to examine the developer’s claims of wrongdoing by federal agents. Prosecutors said each count of making false statements carries a penalty of up to 30 years in prison and a fine up to $1 million.įBI agents examining Paul’s troubled real estate empire searched his Austin offices and palatial home in 2019. ![]() He was released ahead of trial but ordered to surrender his passport and inform the court of any travel outside Texas.įollowing the hearing, Paul left through a back door and climbed into a car in a gated area outside the courthouse.Ī grand jury handed up the indictment Tuesday but a judge sealed the document until after the court hearing, which took place just a few blocks from Paul’s downtown Austin offices. Paul, 36, who entered the federal courtroom shackled and wearing jeans, a blue shirt and Nikes, did not enter a plea during his initial appearance in an Austin court nor visibly react as the charges were read. There was no mention of Paxton or the attorney general’s office during the hearing. ![]() Paul was charged with eight counts of making false statements while seeking loans from mortgage lenders in the U.S. The federal indictment of real estate developer Nate Paul is the result of a yearslong FBI investigation - a probe Paxton involved his office in, setting off a chain of events that led to a separate federal probe of the attorney general and his impeachment and suspension from office last month. WEBER and JIM VERTUNO (Associated Press)ĪUSTIN, Texas (AP) - A Texas businessman at the center of the scandal that led to the historic impeachment of state Attorney General Ken Paxton was charged Friday with making false statements to mortgage lenders to obtain $172 million in loans. ![]()
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