Politics

Ken Paxton Says He’s Tough on Crime. His Trust Invested $600,000 in a Convicted Fraudster’s Company.

Read full article at source ↗

Based on a feed excerpt; full article content has not been acquired. Source evidence retrieved 23/10/2026, 17:24:24 UTC.

Briefings

ProPublica and The Texas Tribune revealed that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton invested $600,000 in a convicted fraudster's business, Wildcatter Sand Services, through a blind trust that was not fully effective. Records show the trust allowed the Paxtons to influence investments and that the attorney general knew of the business dealings, violating Senate ethics rules for blind trusts. This discovery occurred during an ongoing impeachment investigation into the attorney general's conduct.

Key points

• Ken Paxton invested $600,000 in Wildcatter Sand Services, a business built by his son Scott Sherman after Sherman's 2014 federal prison sentence for mortgage fraud.
• Investigation records show the Paxtons' blind trust was not effective, allowing them to influence investments and violating Senate ethics rules for blind trusts.

Context

This finding adds to a pattern of the attorney general engaging with people charged with federal crimes, including New Year's Eve 2024 celebrations with two Americans indicted on healthcare-fraud charges. The discovery highlights the limits of the attorney general's financial association with convicted felons and raises questions about the effectiveness of the blind trust mechanism.

Limitations

Investigation records show the trust was not fully effective, and the attorney general knew of the business dealings. The attorney general did not answer detailed questions about the investment or whether he knew of the conviction. The attorney general has previously defended his business dealings, saying he follows ethics laws.

Generated by Bittrees-hosted qwen35-2b sha256:aaf42c8b7c3c on 23/10/2026, 17:33:58 UTC. Based on publisher-provided feed evidence; may not cover the full original article. Check the source for details.

View archived briefing on IPFS
bafybeidu6zokeuyvex5xnnrp223qgfkjwosdkt56xtfj6474hiflfi4wxu