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 eight counts of making false statements while seeking loans from mortgage lenders in 2017 and 2018.
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 ultimately led to his impeachment and suspension from office last month.
Paul, 36, did not enter a plea during his initial appearance in an Austin court nor visibly react as the charges against him were read. 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.
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