Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was impeached by his own party in the Texas House of Representatives in May 2023 on 20 articles of misconduct, bribery, securities fraud, and abuse of office. The charges haven’t deterred his political career, as he’s currently running to become Texas’ next US Senator.
Throughout his campaign, more corruption scandals and accusations have come to light. Among the most serious accusations: he amassed a multimillion dollar net worth on a public servant’s salary; he gifted himself thousands of dollars each year from a Frisco cell phone tower; he took nearly 1,000 trips with state-funded security detail after being impeached, costing taxpayers millions of dollars; he accepted money from a child sex abuser; he gave a convicted child sex abuser a plea deal of just one day in jail; how he partied with US fugitives in Dubai during New Years Eve in 2024.
He also made headlines after The New York Times discovered he owns 15 homes worth approximately $9 million. Many of the properties, and much of his wealth, are hidden behind a blind trust, which was created in 2015 by Paxton and his wife, state Senator Angela Paxton.The trust is managed by a close friend, Charles “Chip” Loper III.
Paxton turned control of the trust over to Loper in 2016. He’s been a close Paxton ally, giving him more than $50,000 in the last nine years, including $25,000 to fight his criminal indictments.
Paxton and Loper waged “a multi-pronged legal battle” meant to “smear and tarnish” Republican Texas Rep. Byron Cook and Florida businessman Joel Hochberg, whose fraud allegations led to criminal indictments and federal civil charges against Paxton,” according to reporting from The Dallas Morning News.
Most recently, Loper’s lawyer was behind Collin County Court keeping Paxton’s sworn depositions a secret. “A lawyer for Ken Paxton’s wealth manager is asking a Collin County court to keep the attorney general’s sworn depositions from a years-old securities fraud dispute under seal, arguing that Democrat James Talarico’s US Senate campaign has no legal standing to seek their release,” The Texas Tribune reported.
But as Loper was working to bury Paxton’s offenses, he was also facing scandals of his own.
Loper, whom Paxton has trusted with all his wealth and assets, has been sued by both Texas & Arkansas residents for allegedly scamming and exploiting senior citizens in 2007, and was ordered to pay $14.5 million for misleading Washington state seniors in a lucrative “trust mill” scheme in 2021.
Washington state filed a consumer protection lawsuit against Loper’s businesses, CLA Estate Services, Inc. and CLA USA, Inc, in 2018 for operating a “trust mill” by preying on and misleading hundreds of “vulnerable Washington seniors” about estate planning, using scare tactics to gain their trust and persuade them to purchase high-commission insurance products.
According to the state, Loper’s businesses invited seniors in Washington to attend free workshops about estate planning, which included a complimentary meal. During these “free lunch” workshops, salespeople misrepresented Washington probate procedures in order to encourage participants to set up living trusts and buy “Lifetime Estate Plan” packages. The packages included a referral to an attorney and annual in-home estate plan “review meetings.”
But during these in-home meetings, which were described as opportunities to ensure estate documents were up to date, insurance agents would visit seniors’ homes under the guise of reviewing seniors’ estate plans. After reviewing estate documents and obtaining detailed financial information, agents would try to persuade seniors to move money into annuities that generated high commissions for CLA, as annuities can carry hefty penalties if funds are withdrawn too early.
Several victims testified that CLA agents failed to disclose those penalties, with one stating Loper “tied up 100%” of their money, “every penny I had, every penny, he didn’t leave me one account for me to be able to get into without penalty.” Another victim told the court that she lost $16,000 as a result of an annuity CLA sold to her.
The court ruled that Loper violated the Consumer Protection Act, the Estate Distribution Documents Act, and the businesses were ordered to pay $14.5 million in restitution, penalties, and attorney’s fees, including payments to Washingtonians ranging from $450 to approximately $80,000, plus interest.
Loper and his businesses were also accused of the same scheme years prior, and were sued by Texas and Arkansas residents. He settled for an undisclosed sum.
Paxton’s scandals and fraud accusations parallel Loper’s: Paxton was indicted in the late summer of 2015 over accusations of defrauding investors and encouraging people to invest in a tech company without disclosing that he was being compensated by the company for promoting its stock. Investors reportedly put more than $840,000 into the company.
He faced three felony charges: Two counts of securities fraud, and one count of failing to register with Texas securities regulators as required for his securities-related activities.
After pleading not guilty to the charges, the case was stalled by several disputes, including debates on how much the prosecutors should be paid and back and forth changes to the legal venue between Collin County and Houston that further delayed the case.
After nine years, Paxton struck a deal with prosecutors, agreeing to pay around $300,000 in restitution and do community service with local food pantry organizations in Collin County to get the charges dropped, according to The Texas Tribune.
In 2020, eight senior officials in Paxton’s office reported concerns about Paxton using his government position to help Austin real estate investor Nate Paul, a political donor and personal associate, to investigators. They alleged that he had used the attorney general’s office to help Paul with legal and business problems. Paxton also received personal benefits from Paul in return, including assistance with renovating his home.
The allegations sparked investigation from the FBI along with a 2023 impeachment trial. But when the FBI passed the investigation from Texas federal prosecutors to Justice Department officials in late 2024, the Justice Department quietly declined to continue pursuing the case.
Paxton will face Democratic candidate James Talarico in the general election on Nov. 3. Early voting runs now through Oct. 30. Check your registration below.
