Ken Paxton’s Blind Trust Invested $600K In Convicted Fraudster’s Business
A blind trust established for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and state Sen. Angela Paxton invested $600,000 in a company run by a man convicted of mortgage fraud, according to an October 23, 2026, investigation by The Texas Tribune and ProPublica.
Impeachment Records Raise Trust Independence Questions
Previously unreleased impeachment investigation records indicate that the Paxtons had knowledge of certain trust investments, raising questions about whether the arrangement maintained the independence required of a blind trust.
The money was invested in Wildcatter Sand Services, a firm managed by Scott Sherman, a home builder who pleaded guilty in 2014 to federal mortgage fraud conspiracy.
The Paxtons claimed more than $93,000 in losses from Wildcatter Sand Services and Grayson County Sand and Gravel on their 2020 joint federal tax return, raising questions about how much they knew about the trust’s investments.
Between January and June 2023, four Wildcatter companies transferred more than $83,000 to the Paxtons’ trust in 15 payments, according to bank records. The purpose of those payments could not be conclusively established.
Beyond these transfers, state legislative records reveal that Angela Paxton served on an advisory board for the venture and later voted on relevant environmental legislation affecting the aggregate materials sector.
Ethics Experts And Lawmakers Respond To Disclosures
Ethics experts questioned the investment and whether the trust adequately separated the Paxtons from their private financial interests. Kathleen Clark, a Washington University law professor specialising in government ethics, questioned the trust’s independence after records showed that the Paxtons reported investment losses on their joint tax return.
Richard Painter, a former chief ethics lawyer to President George W. Bush, told The Texas Tribune and ProPublica that he expected Texas’s attorney general to exercise better judgment in dealing with a convicted felon, adding that he thought “the attorney general of Texas would have the good sense not to be dealing with a convicted felon.”
Ken Paxton did not respond to detailed questions submitted by investigators regarding the transaction timelines. A spokesperson for Angela Paxton stated that the state senator was entirely unaware of Sherman’s prior criminal history at the time of the business interactions.
