Ken Paxton to appear in court in securities fraud case hearing

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is set to appear in court this week after years of delays in a securities fraud case against him.

The hearing is scheduled for Thursday in Harris County.

Paxton faces felony charges and is accused of defrauding investors in a tech startup. He was indicted in 2015.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled last month the case should remain in Houston, settling a key issue in the case as Paxton faces an impeachment trial in the Texas Senate later this year.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, in a 6-3 ruling, overturned lower court decisions that said Paxton’s trial had been improperly moved from Collin County, where he lives, to Harris County because the trial judge had lost jurisdiction over the matter, the Texas Tribune reported. However, the Texas Constitution and state law protected the judge’s authority over the case, the court ruled.

In 2015, a Collin County grand jury indicted Paxton on two counts of securities fraud, a first-degree felony with a punishment of up to 99 years in prison and one count of failing to register with state securities regulators, a third-degree felony with a maximum 10 years in prison.

This criminal case is separate from Paxton’s impeachment trial, which is slated for September at the Texas Capitol.