Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his wife, State Senator Angela Paxton, funneled 600,000 dollars into a construction materials business owned by Scott Sherman, a man who previously served time in federal prison for mortgage fraud. While the investment was made through a blind trust intended to separate the couple’s private finances from their official duties, records from a previous impeachment investigation suggest the arrangement was far from opaque. These findings raise significant questions about the integrity of the trust and the nature of the Paxtons’ financial associations.
The businessman at the center of the deal, Scott Sherman, pleaded guilty in 2014 to orchestrating a mortgage fraud conspiracy that inflated home prices in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. After completing his sentence, he launched several ventures under the Wildcatter name. Despite these companies accumulating substantial tax debts to local governments and school districts, they continued to wire tens of thousands of dollars back to the Paxtons throughout a period marked by political turmoil and impeachment proceedings for the attorney general.
This financial link creates a stark contradiction for Ken Paxton, who has spent much of his career positioning himself as a relentless crusader against white collar crime and corporate fraud. Ethics experts argue that doing business with a convicted felon undermines his public image as the state’s top anti fraud watchdog. Richard Painter, a former chief ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush, questioned why the highest law enforcement officer in Texas would engage with individuals associated with such criminal histories.
Adding further complication is evidence that Ken Paxton may have maintained direct knowledge of how his blind trust was managed, potentially violating its own governing documents and standard ethical norms for public officials. As Paxton pursues a seat in the U.S. Senate, critics point out that strict federal rules prohibit senators from having any awareness of their blind trust holdings. While spokespeople for the Paxtons have denied intentional wrongdoing or prior knowledge of Sherman’s record, this latest revelation adds another layer to a pattern of controversial associations surrounding the attorney general.