The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday charged Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton with fraud in a civil case, saying that he recruited investors to a technology company without disclosing he was being compensated to promote the company’s stock, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The SEC action comes eight months after Paxton was indicted by a county grand jury in Texas on similar securities fraud charges involving the tech company, Servergy Inc., and another firm. Paxton, a Republican, in August pleaded not guilty to the Texas grand-jury charges and has said that he won’t resign. The alleged violations took place before Paxton’s election as attorney general, when he was a state legislator. If convicted of the felony securities-fraud criminal charges in Texas, Paxton faces jail time of five to 99 years. The SEC action could result in a fine. Read more. (Subscription required.)
Learn more about unwinding a fraud case by picking up a copy of ABI’s Fraud and Forensics: Piercing Through the Deception in a Commercial Fraud Case.