Locked up and with nowhere to turn, Nate Paul, the Austin real estate whiz linked to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's impeachment saga, has been handed a 10-day jail sentence to commence on April 1 by order of a Travis County judge. Paul, caught in a legal storm over money owed to the Mitte Foundation, committed a series of courtroom no-nos according to Judge Jan Soifer, who found him guilty of six separate acts of criminal contempt. The case spiraled to include allegations against Paxton, who was accused of misusing his office to aid Paul – a charge Paxton beat last year in a Senate trial, KXAN reported.
The real estate developer, known for his deep pockets and deep troubles, faced the Texas Supreme Court's music after a desperate attempt to shake off the contempt order; however, it fell on deaf ears in a tight 5-4 split on March 15. The high court decided it was time for Paul to swap his business suit for a jumpsuit, denying his plea for relief. His infractions included failing to report a $100,000 transfer to "an NBA player" despite a court order to spill on any transfers over $25,000 – which was doubted by Soifer as a legitimate transaction, as reported by the American-Statesman.
Justice Jane Bland, backed by a minority of Supreme Court justices, cast stones at the ruling, arguing the arrangement had due process written all over it. "Private prosecution of criminal contempt by a judgment creditor in a related civil action is likely a constitutional violation worthy of this Court’s attention," the dissenting justices noted according to court documents. Paul's defense chorused this notion, highlighting the blurred lines between civil and criminal in this high-stakes financial tug-of-war.
The backdrop of this debacle is as intricate as it is imperfect. Paul's trajectory intersected with that of AG Paxton when Paxton allegedly tried to shield Paul's assets from foreclosure – a favor for a friend, and a donor. Paxton's brush with impeachment almost painted him out of office, but the Senate's acquittal realigned his stars. Now, as Paul's attorneys zip their lips in light of the recent ruling, he stares down a distinct uphill legal battle with a Federal Court date set for November on separate but equally grave counts of wire fraud and false statements to lenders, KXAN explained.
The tug-of-war with the law goes beyond just state-level spats for Paul. Federally, he's entangled in indictments that could dwarf his current woes: 12 counts of wire fraud and making false statements, some of which, individually, could slap him with up to 30 years behind bars. With his not-guilty plea, the battlefield is set for a November showdown. The American dream, the promise of riches through real estate, seems to have flipped into a nightmare of litigation for Paul, whose path through the courts is far from over.
