(Bloomberg) – Austin real estate developer Nate Paul, an associate of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, has been charged with making false statements to influence financial institutions on loan applications.
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The charges come less than two weeks after the attorney general was removed from office and suspended from office pending trial in the state Senate. His name does not appear in the indictment.
Read more: Texas AG Ken Paxton impeached by Republican-led State House
According to the indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in Austin on Tuesday and unsealed on Friday, the lenders involved were based in Texas, New York, Connecticut and Ireland, and the alleged violations took place between March 2017. and April 2018. Prosecutors say that in one case, Paul applied for a loan by falsely claiming that one of his accounts contained $31.6 million in cash, when in fact it contained less than $500. 000 dollars.
The law firm of Gerry Morris, which represents Paul, said it had no comment on the charges.
Read the statement from the US Department of Justice here
Paul is a central figure in the alleged wrongdoings that culminated in Paxton’s impeachment last month at the hands of fellow Texas House Republicans. Whistleblowers in his office say they were fired for reporting bribes and other misconduct to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Among other allegations, they say Paxton tried to use his office’s powers during the pandemic to help Paul by preventing foreclosure sales and hired a lawyer to investigate the developer’s opponents. The FBI has opened an investigation into the allegations, but no charges have been filed.
According to Mark Jones, professor of political science at Rice University in Houston.
“It’s one more unknown that he and his legal team will have to deal with,” Jones said, referring to Paxton.
Read more: Texas AG Paxton impeachment trial draws great legal minds
Paxton denied any wrongdoing. His office did not immediately respond to an email and call seeking comment on Paul’s indictment.
Paul was charged with eight counts. Prosecutors say each faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison if convicted, although under federal sentencing guidelines, the sentence could be shorter. He made his first court appearance Friday in Austin and was released on bail.
The case is US v. Natin Paul, 23-cr-100, US District Court, Western District of Texas (Austin).
–With help from Brendan Walsh.
(Adds indictment details to third paragraph.)
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