Scott Sherman had a problem four years out of prison. His new sand and gravel business needed cash. Ken Paxton had a solution. The Texas Attorney General’s so-called blind trust sent $600,000 to Sherman’s company, Wildcatter Sand Services.
This investment connects the state’s top law enforcement officer to a convicted felon. Sherman pleaded guilty in 2014 for his role in a mortgage fraud conspiracy. It also reveals a trust that was not blind. It shows a financial lifeline extended while some of the connected companies later failed to pay their local taxes.
The arrangement raises serious ethical questions. Paxton often boasts of fighting fraud. “In Texas, we fight fraud head-on,” he said in a 2024 news release. Doing business with a recent convict contradicts that message. “I would have thought the attorney general of Texas would have the good sense not to be dealing with a convicted felon,” said Richard Painter. He served as ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush.
Paxton and his wife, Senator Angela Paxton, established the trust to avoid conflicts. They agreed their friend Chip Loper would manage it independently. Records from Paxton’s 2023 impeachment investigation tell a different story. Text messages show Paxton and Loper discussed investments. Mortgage records show Paxton bought properties and transferred them into the trust himself.
The Wildcatter investment slipped past the supposed firewall completely. Angela Paxton joined an advisory board for a Wildcatter subsidiary in 2022. She later voted for a bill that benefited that industry. The Paxtons also claimed over $93,000 in losses from Wildcatter companies on their 2020 tax return. “That is proof positive that there’s nothing blind about this trust,” said Kathleen Clark. She is a government ethics professor at Washington University.
After the cash infusion, Sherman expanded fast. He bought a sand mine in Denison and a concrete plant in Gunter. Neighbors in Gunter complained of constant dust. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality issued violation notices to the plant.
Angela Paxton joined the Wildcatter Materials advisory board in 2023. Her spokesperson said the role carried no decision making authority. Yet in 2024, she voted for a bill affecting environmental complaints. The bill allowed regulators to ignore residents after a set number of complaints. Its author, then Senator Drew Springer, said it stopped activists from “weaponizing the system.”
Neighbors saw it as silencing them. Deirdre Diamond advocated against the plant’s pollution. She was stunned to learn of the Paxtons’ investment. “You can’t pretend to be about protecting the people when you directly profit from it,” Diamond said.
During this period, money flowed back to the Paxtons. Four Wildcatter companies wired over $73,000 to their trust in early 2024. About $10,000 arrived just before Angela Paxton’s vote. Another $12,000 came the week after the bill passed.
This happened as tax debts piled up. By then, Wildcatter Sand Services owed over $31,000 in back taxes in Grayson County. Other Wildcatter companies would soon owe hundreds of thousands more.
The payments continued as Paxton faced his own crisis. In 2023, his impeachment loomed. Wildcatter companies wired the trust over $83,000 between January and June. One payment is especially notable. On May 19, the trust wired $9,000 to attorney Mitch Little‘s firm. Little later represented Paxton at his impeachment trial. The trust’s checking account would have been empty without Wildcatter deposits that month.
It is unclear if this money paid for legal defense. Neither Loper nor Little responded to questions. An ethics expert said such a pass-through would be highly problematic.
| Year | Transaction | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Losses claimed on tax return | $93,000 |
| 2024 | Money from Wildcatter | $73,000 |
| 2024 | Before voting | $10,000 |
| 2024 | After bill passed | $12,000 |
| 2023 | Wired to attorney | $9,000 |
| 2023 | Impeachment crisis | $83,000 |
By 2025, some Wildcatter companies were sued for nearly $200,000 in delinquent property taxes. Schools and local governments had to fight for the money.
This story shows a broken system. It shows an attorney general investing with a felon. It shows a blind trust that was wide open. It shows a state senator voting on a bill that helped her husband’s investment. It shows companies funding a politician while stiffing their own communities.
- Scott Sherman needed cash
- Ken Paxton provided funds
- Investment ties to convicted felon
- Ethical concerns arise
- Money transferred amid tax debts
- Political implications for Paxton
Paxton faces a tough race for U.S. Senate. His financial associations are now a central issue. The rules for Senate blind trusts are strict. Candidates must have no knowledge of the investments. Paxton’s current arrangement would not comply.
He did not answer detailed questions about Wildcatter. He has said he follows ethics laws. The evidence suggests otherwise. The public is left to wonder who the attorney general truly serves. The answer appears to be in his bank statements.
