Securities Fraud Trial For Attorney General Ken Paxton Scheduled May 1

AUSTIN, TX — The criminal trial related to securities fraud charges against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is now scheduled to begin May 1, according to published reports.

Ahead of the trial, four days have been set aside for jury selection starting on April 20 in Collin County, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

In the past, Paxton's attorneys have tried to have the case dismissed, but the scheduling now not only makes the trial a certainty, but will come at a busy time as the Texas Legislature will be wrapping up the final month of its 2017 session and politicians set their sights toward the 2018 primary elections, as the Statesman noted.

State District Judge George Gallagher will proceed over the imminent trial.

Paxton's future as a viable candidate in the future might hang in the balance as a result of the trial's timing. A guilty verdict could very well jeopardize his chances at re-election, despite a robust campaign war chest of $4.6 million—roughly half of which was raised last year alone, according to the newspaper.

Paxton is charged with two counts of securities fraud, first-degree felonies carrying a maximum punishment of 99 years in prison. Securities regulators allege he approached investors in 2011 (before becoming attorney general) to promote Servergy Inc. without disclosing to potential investors the McKinney tech company was paying him to tout the stock.

Paxton also is charged with failing to register with state securities regulations, which is a third-degree felony.

The attorney general went through the indignity of getting photographed by police for a mugshot after his arrest on the charges in August 2015, after which he was booked into the Collin County jail before being released the same day. The booking photo was widely published by media outlets, given the incongruous nature of a prominent lawmaker being photographed for that purpose.

Separately, federal regulators with the Securities Exchange Commission also accuse Paxton of fraud related to the stock deal. Paxton scored a brief victory against the SEC in October, when a federal judge tossed out the regulators' complaint asking for more detail, only to see the Feds re-file an amended complaint.

That jurist, U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant III, has yet to rule on Paxton's request to dismiss the SEC's re-filed complaint, which aimed to assess fines and order the attorney general to repay "ill-gotten gains" related to his activities on behalf of Servergy, the Statesman noted in an update to that case.

>>> Photo via Collin County jail records