Mogul tied to Texas AG Ken Paxton's impeachment scandal is indicted trends now
A Texas businessman at the center of the scandal that led to the historic impeachment of state Attorney General Ken Paxton has been hit with a federal indictment.
Real estate developer Nate Paul, 36, was charged Friday with eight counts of making false statements while seeking loans from mortgage lenders in 2017 and 2018.
The federal indictment of Paul is the result of a years-long FBI investigation - a probe Paxton involved his office in, setting off a chain of events that ultimately led to his impeachment and suspension from office last month.
Paxton, a Republican, was impeached on 20 articles last month by the state's GOP-led House, amid allegations that he took bribes and abused his powers to assist Paul in a variety of ways.
Paul did not enter a plea during his initial appearance in an Austin federal court nor visibly react as the charges against him were read.
Texas real estate developer Nate Paul, 36, was charged Friday with eight counts of making false statements while seeking loans from mortgage lenders in 2017 and 2018
Ken Paxton, a Republican, was impeached on 20 articles last month by the state's GOP-led House, amid allegations that he took bribes and abused his powers to assist Paul
He entered the federal courtroom shackled and wearing jeans, a blue shirt and Nikes, and was released ahead of trial, but ordered to surrender his passport and inform the court of any travel outside Texas.
One of Paul's lawyers, David Gerger, said his client may comment after his court appearance. Dan Cogdell, a defense attorney for Paxton, said Thursday that he had no information on the arrest.
Paul is accused of overstating his assets and understating his liabilities while seeking loans. In some cases, prosecutors said, Paul told banks he had $18 million in an account when he had less than $13,000.
In another case laid out in the 23-page indictment, Paul is accused of having $28 million in liabilities but giving a credit union in 2018 a far lower number,
FBI agents examining Paul´s troubled real estate empire searched his Austin offices and palatial home in 2019.
The next year, eight of Paxton's top deputies reported the attorney general to the FBI on allegations of bribery and abuse of office,
