After several postponements, a court date has been set for embattled Austin developer Nate Paul’s bank and wire fraud trial.
Senior U.S. District Judge David Ezra has pushed back the trial from July 29 to Nov. 6, after it was originally slated to start last August, KXAN reported.
Paul’s attorneys sought a delay due to the volume of evidence and the complexity of the case, which involves 12 felony charges, including eight counts of making false statements to lenders, three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
While Paul’s legal team pushed for a trial date in January 2025, prosecutors expressed preference for October. Judge Ezra deemed waiting until January as excessively prolonged, citing concerns about potential jury selection challenges during the holiday season.
The defense highlighted the substantial amount of information still awaiting review for the case, including over 4 million documents and a database of more than 700 bank accounts. Extensive work is required besides that, such as interviews with witnesses and related travel, Paul’s attorney E.G. Morris said.
A plea agreement isn’t planned, and the case will proceed to trial, Morris said, affirming Paul’s plea of not guilty to all charges, the outlet reported.
A once-thriving Austin real estate player, Paul has dealt with a slew of lawsuits, bankruptcies and foreclosures since the FBI raided his offices in 2019. He was at the center of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial last year, as he was accused of bribing Paxton in exchange for legal assistance related to the foreclosures.
In December, Paul failed to appear in court in a case related to several properties he formerly owned that were sold via foreclosure auction.
—Quinn Donoghue
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