Post by Logan on May 7, 2016 9:35:11 GMT -6
AUSTIN – Ken Paxton told federal investigators that a tech CEO gave him $100,000 worth of stock five years ago, but he never disclosed the shares as either a gift or income, an issue ethics experts agreed could spell more trouble for the attorney general already facing state and federal fraud charges.
According to federal fraud charges filed against Paxton last month, the embattled first-term Republican AG told investigators from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that in 2011 he was given 100,000 shares of stock in the North Texas tech startup Servergy by the firm’s then-CEO Bill Mapp.
While Paxton said he intended to invest in the company and pay for the shares, Mapp allegedly wouldn’t accept, telling him during a meeting at a McKinney Dairy Queen that “God doesn’t want me to take your money,” according to the SEC charges.
“Consequently, Paxton claims, he later accepted the shares as a gift,” the charges added. Yet Paxton, who was a state representative at the time, never disclosed the stock as a gift on annual personal financial statements that elected officials are required to file with the state.
Read more: trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2016/05/ken-paxton-did-not-disclose-servergy-stock-as-a-gift-or-income.html/
According to federal fraud charges filed against Paxton last month, the embattled first-term Republican AG told investigators from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that in 2011 he was given 100,000 shares of stock in the North Texas tech startup Servergy by the firm’s then-CEO Bill Mapp.
While Paxton said he intended to invest in the company and pay for the shares, Mapp allegedly wouldn’t accept, telling him during a meeting at a McKinney Dairy Queen that “God doesn’t want me to take your money,” according to the SEC charges.
“Consequently, Paxton claims, he later accepted the shares as a gift,” the charges added. Yet Paxton, who was a state representative at the time, never disclosed the stock as a gift on annual personal financial statements that elected officials are required to file with the state.
Read more: trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2016/05/ken-paxton-did-not-disclose-servergy-stock-as-a-gift-or-income.html/