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Citizenship approvals fall to 57,700 in spring as backlog tops 742,000 before midterms Pentagon confirms Eisenhower-era globe damaged during move toward Hegseth's office ProPublica: Paxton's family trust put $600,000 into company run by man convicted of fraud Buttigieg endorses independent Bodnar over Democrat Bankhead in Montana Senate race West Texas DA opens forgery probe into disputed transgender mailers sent statewide On tape: Obama: Would Republicans stay quiet if a Democratic president banned Fox News? Trump housing order targets closing costs and mortgage insurance; savings unproven Social Security used a disputed DHS tool to update citizenship data in 25 million records Court revokes citizenship of Vivian Obichere in Justice Department denaturalization push On tape: Jasmine Crockett runs through Todd Blanche's record, point by point. Citizenship approvals fall to 57,700 in spring as backlog tops 742,000 before midterms Pentagon confirms Eisenhower-era globe damaged during move toward Hegseth's office ProPublica: Paxton's family trust put $600,000 into company run by man convicted of fraud Buttigieg endorses independent Bodnar over Democrat Bankhead in Montana Senate race West Texas DA opens forgery probe into disputed transgender mailers sent statewide On tape: Obama: Would Republicans stay quiet if a Democratic president banned Fox News? Trump housing order targets closing costs and mortgage insurance; savings unproven Social Security used a disputed DHS tool to update citizenship data in 25 million records Court revokes citizenship of Vivian Obichere in Justice Department denaturalization push On tape: Jasmine Crockett runs through Todd Blanche's record, point by point.

Corruption & Accountability · Report · File No. 261023-500

ProPublica: Paxton's family trust put $600,000 into company run by man convicted of fraud

Records from Ken Paxton's 2023 impeachment probe show his supposedly blind trust invested in a business run by a man who served time for mortgage fraud. Ethics experts say it raises questions for a Senate candidate who campaigns as tough on fraud.

By the Investigations Desk · · 2 min read

Every quote in this story (2) was matched word for word against its source. How we work

Ken Paxton
Ken Paxton. Photo: Anythingyouwant, CC BY-SA 4.0

A family trust tied to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton put $600,000 in cash into a construction materials business run by Scott Sherman, a North Texas home builder who had finished a federal prison sentence for mortgage fraud, ProPublica reported Friday. The investment came about four years after Sherman's sentence ended, according to the report. 1

Paxton, a Republican, is in a tight race for the U.S. Senate against Democrat James Talarico, a state lawmaker. Election Day is Nov. 3. 1

A trust that was not so blind

A blind trust is supposed to keep an official from knowing about, or steering, his own investments. The Paxtons set one up when Paxton became attorney general. Records from the 2023 impeachment investigation, which had not been released before, show the trust was "far from blind," ProPublica reported. 1

The records show Paxton had at least some knowledge of the trust's investments, and text messages show he discussed some with the trust's manager, family friend Chip Loper. The couple also claimed more than $93,000 in losses from two Sherman companies on their 2020 federal tax return. 1

From Channel GOPTalarico: Elon Musk is trying to buy Texas Senate seatJames Talarico · 134 plays · captioned, with the source named
That is proof positive that there’s nothing blind about this trust
Kathleen Clark, law professor, Washington University in St. Louis1

Paxton's wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, also served on an advisory board for one Sherman company beginning in 2022. She voted for a bill that shielded a subsidiary from certain environmental complaints. Her spokesperson said she was not aware of Sherman's criminal history. 1

Payments during the impeachment

ProPublica reported that some Sherman companies stopped paying taxes to local governments, including school districts. In the same period, Sherman's Wildcatter companies wired the Paxtons tens of thousands of dollars in the months before and during Paxton's 2023 impeachment on corruption and bribery charges. The Legislature acquitted him. 1

Paxton did not answer detailed questions about the investment or whether he knew of Sherman's conviction. He has said before that he follows ethics laws. 1

The receipt

Paxton has built his image on prosecuting fraud. Last year he said, "In Texas, we fight fraud head-on and will not rest until every last corrupt actor is brought to justice." 1

Richard Painter, the chief ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush, said he would have thought "the attorney general of Texas would have the good sense not to be dealing with a convicted felon." Donald Kettl, a former dean at the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy, said U.S. Senate rules require senators with a blind trust to have no knowledge of its investments. 1

This is the second report in two weeks about Paxton and people accused of federal crimes. The Wall Street Journal reported on Oct. 12 that Paxton celebrated New Year's Eve 2024 in Dubai with two men indicted in an Illinois case over $15 million allegedly embezzled from a hospital. One of them, Anosh Ahmed, gave Paxton $190,000 in campaign money, according to that report. Paxton's adviser did not address the trip and said Paxton has been "politically persecuted for years." 2

Talarico responded to the Dubai report on X. The latest report adds a financial question to a campaign already built around corruption and who is paying for it. Voters can weigh whether the facts match the image. 2

The Record

  1. Scott Sherman pleaded guilty in a mortgage fraud conspiracy case involving more than two dozen properties 1
  2. Paxton was impeached on corruption and bribery charges and later acquitted by the Legislature; investigators gathered records on his trust 1
  3. The Wall Street Journal reported Paxton spent New Year's Eve 2024 in Dubai with two men indicted on federal health care fraud charges 2
  4. ProPublica reported the Paxton family trust invested $600,000 in Sherman's Wildcatter business 1

Sources

  1. ProPublica, “Ken Paxton Says He’s Tough on Crime. His Trust Invested $600,000 in a Convicted Fraudster’s Company.” (2026-10-23). propublica.org/article/ken-paxton-investment-scott-sherman-w
  2. FOX 4 News, “Video shows Paxton partying in Dubai with 2 indicted US fugitives, report says” (2026-10-13). fox4news.com/election/report-paxton-partied-new-years-eve-du

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