Saturday, August 1, 2015

Texas AG Faces Indictment for Securities Fraud


Chron reported:

Attorney General Ken Paxton is expected to surrender to authorities Monday following an indictment on multiple felony charges stemming from his involvement with a North Texas technology company accused of defrauding investors, according to multiple sources close to the case.

A Collin County grand jury issued the indictment against the first-term attorney general on Tuesday, two sources who had been briefed on the proceedings told the Chronicle on Saturday.

Paxton faces two counts of first-degree securities fraud and one count of third-degree securities fraud, with the most serious charges carrying a minimum sentence of five years in prison, special prosecutor Kent Schaffer told The New York Times.

Schaffer said Paxton is accused of encouraging people, including current and former members of the Legislature, to invest more than $600,000 in a McKinney-based technology company called Servergy without telling them he was making a commission. He also misrepresented himself as an investor in the company that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating for defrauding stockholders as recently as December 2014. The first-degree charges each carry a sentence of five to 99 years in prison and a fine of not more than $10,000.

The third-degree charge stems from his failure to properly register with the state as an investment adviser representative, which carries a sentence of two to 10 years in prison, as well as a $10,000 fine.
Wow,  this speaks to the abysmal level of leadership in both business and politics.  They serve themselves at nearly every turn.