Texas has filed a lawsuit against Fort Worth City Council Member Chris Nettles and his ministry, seeking nearly $800,000 in disallowed expenses tied to a federal program that once reimbursed his organization for feeding children at more than a dozen sites. The state says Purpose Driven Ministries owes $787,873 to the Texas Department of Agriculture, and the case now stands as the latest legal entanglement for a council member with a long history of courtroom and campaign drama.
State lawsuit filings reviewed by WBAP show the Office of the Attorney General filed "State of Texas v. Purpose Driven Ministries" in Travis County's 353rd District Court on August 6, under Cause No. D-1-GN-26-004558, naming the ministry and identifying Nettles as a defendant. According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the state is seeking monetary relief of $1 million or less, excluding interest, attorney fees and other costs. The lawsuit does not specify exactly which expenses were disallowed, though the Texas Department of Agriculture referred the unpaid debt to the attorney general's office for collection after Purpose Driven Ministries failed to pay amounts determined to be due, per the filing.
Nettles founded Purpose Driven Ministries in Fort Worth in 2010 and signed an agreement with the Texas Department of Agriculture in 2018 to participate in the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program, which reimburses organizations for the cost of nutritious meals and snacks served to children. The ministry operated the Haven of Purpose Child Care Center at 3000 Vaughn Blvd., which opened in 2018. The center was approved to provide meals at 14 sites during the 2020-2021 program period and expanded to 19 sites during the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 program years, providing meals to schools primarily in the Everman school district, the Star-Telegram reports.
A Center Already Shuttered
Haven of Purpose voluntarily suspended its permit in July 2024, reportedly to make repairs or possibly find a new location, according to the Star-Telegram's reporting. The center ultimately closed in April, months before the state's lawsuit was filed. Complicating matters further, a USDA database listed Nettles and Purpose Driven Ministries as barred from the Child and Adult Care Food Program and other USDA nutrition programs in 2023. Under federal regulations, individuals or institutional principals listed on the CACFP National Disqualified List following program termination or unresolved serious deficiencies are barred from participating in all federal child nutrition programs for seven years, according to the Federal Register.
Audrey Rowland told the Star-Telegram that disallowed expenses can occur when requirements for purchased grains, fruits, vegetables and meat are not met, and that meal-count discrepancies can also contribute to such findings. Shawneequa Blount said accurate recordkeeping is crucial when enrollment and meal counts fluctuate, and identified junk food and candy as examples of expenses that can be disallowed under program rules.
Political Fallout at City Hall
The lawsuit has already spilled into Fort Worth city politics. During a Fort Worth City Council meeting on August 25, local resident and 2027 council candidate James “Conly” Brewer publicly called for transparency regarding Nettles' sworn financial disclosures and the state's nearly $800,000 collection action, per WBAP's reporting. The City of Fort Worth itself is not a named party in the lawsuit, and city spokesperson Leann Guzman said in a written statement that the city did not have a comment.
Nettles, who is also a pastor, represents District 8 in south and southeast Fort Worth. He was first elected to the council in 2021 and won re-election in the May 2025 general election, securing a term that runs through 2027, according to Ballotpedia. Before joining the council, he served from 2013 to 2020 as an administrative court clerk and assistant court manager for the Tarrant County Justice of the Peace Precinct 8, per official City of Fort Worth biography records.
A History of Legal and Political Clashes
This is not Nettles' first courtroom fight. In August 2019, a Texas judge dismissed an election fraud lawsuit Nettles had filed against incumbent Fort Worth Councilwoman Kelly Allen Gray under the Texas Citizens Participation Act, ordering Nettles to pay $9,234 in attorney fees and a $4,000 fine after finding no evidence of fraud, according to CBS News. More recently, an April 2025 Fort Worth City Council candidate debate ended in a physical and verbal altercation between Nettles and opponent Payton Jackson after Jackson handed him civil lawsuit papers, with both candidates filing police reports for offensive contact, as reported by WFAA.
In December 2024, NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth reported on a leaked 2022 audio recording in which Nettles appeared to accuse several Fort Worth City Council colleagues and the mayor of being racist. Nettles claimed the recording was an altered private conversation leaked for political gain.
Program Fraud Remains Rare Statewide
Despite the case against Purpose Driven Ministries, officials and childcare advocates emphasize that fraud within Texas childcare programs remains minimal. Dominique McCain said childcare business leaders generally are not trying to do anything nefarious or criminal, according to the Star-Telegram's reporting. A February 2026 report published by the Texas Workforce Commission and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission found the Texas Child Care Services program had a 0.43% improper payment rate in fiscal year 2022, an improper payment rate under 1%.
The Child and Adult Care Food Program, overseen by the Texas Department of Agriculture, is a massive operation statewide. The program served at least 141 million breakfasts, lunches and snacks during the program year cited by the Star-Telegram, and a July 2026 Texas Department of Agriculture press release put the annual total even higher, reporting more than 200 million meals and snacks served across the state each year. Texas has 924 contract entities participating in the program, providing meals at more than 9,900 sites statewide, according to the Star-Telegram. Under Chapter 1, Subchapter B of the Texas Department of Agriculture's administrative rules, debts resulting from disallowed administrative or meal costs that remain unpaid following state review must be formally referred to the Office of the Attorney General for civil collection — the same process that led to the case against Purpose Driven Ministries.
The civil litigation in Travis County remains ongoing, with no final judgment yet issued in the case.
