The Austin real estate investor at the center of Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial is now facing four additional charges brought forth by federal prosecutors on Wednesday.
Nate Paul is now facing three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
Paul was at the center of abuse of power allegations against the attorney general, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. Paxton was ultimately acquitted by the Texas Senate after being impeached by the House.
The amended indictment filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas claims that Paul lied to business partners who invested in his company.
Court documents filed by federal prosecutors allege that Paul falsely represented that he planned to isolate limited partners’ assets and use those assets for the benefit of the partnership.
This purported scheme allegedly granted Paul unrestricted access and use of the limited partnership’s funds, according to the DOJ press release.
Paul is facing up to 20 years in prison and fines of $250,000 for each of the four new counts. These counts are added to the eight counts of false statements to lenders Paul was charged with in June.
The DOJ stated in a press release about the initial charges that Paul allegedly violated “Section 1014 of Title 18 of the United States Code, which prohibits knowingly making a false statement or report for the purpose of influencing the action of a financial institution on an application for a loan.”
Court documents from the case state that the lenders were based in Texas, New York, Connecticut, and Ireland, per the press release.
Paul faces up to 30 years in prison and fines of up to $1 million for each of the eight charges. The alleged crimes occurred between March 2017 and April 2018.
These charges come following years of investigation by the FBI in response to allegations by four Paxton aides that the attorney general was using his power to benefit his friend.
Each of the four aides was subsequently terminated or resigned from their positions, leading to a lawsuit in which they claimed to be unfairly relieved of their jobs.
The lawsuit resulted in the Texas House investigating the claims and impeaching Paxton, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
