A grand jury has indicted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on three counts of securities fraud, according to multiple media reports.
Paxton is accused of misleading investors in a technology company — by encouraging investments without revealing he was making a commission on them — and, on a lesser charge, of failing to register as a solicitor while he was referring clients to an investment firm, the New York Times reports.
All the activity allegedly occurred while Paxton was serving in the state House of Representatives, before he stepped into his role as the attorney general.
Sources told both the Times and a local NBC affiliate that the indictments were returned on Tuesday and immediately sealed. They are set to be unsealed as early as Monday, the same day Paxton is expected to turn himself in to authorities.
Matt Largey, with member station KUT, reports for our Newscast division that it's not the first time Paxton's behavior has been under the microscope:
"Paxton has been under a series of investigations since last year, when he admitted to soliciting investments for a friend's company, without registering with the State Securities Board. He was fined a thousand dollars," Largey says.
"The felonies he's reportedly charged with would carry the possibility of a stricter punishment — up to life in prison."
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