Texas Sues Precious Metals IRA, Bullion Coin Scheme That Defrauded Senior Investors Of Over $185 Million

Staff Report

Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton is the lawyer for the State of Texas and is charged by the Texas Constitution to:

• defend the laws and the Constitution of the State of Texas
• represent the State in litigation
• approve public bond issues

To fulfill these responsibilities, the Office of the Attorney General serves as legal counsel to all boards and agencies of state government, issues legal opinions when requested by the Governor, heads of state agencies, and other officials and agencies as provided by Texas statutes.

The Texas AG sits as an ex-officio member of state committees and commissions and defends challenges to state laws and suits against both state agencies and individual employees of the State.

Many Texans look to the Office of the Attorney General for guidance with disputes and legal issues. The agency receives hundreds of letters, phone calls, and visits each week about crime victims’ compensation, child support, abuse in nursing homes, possible consumer fraud, and other topics.

To find out more about the Texas Attorney General, visit the official website at https://texasattorneygeneral.gov/.

AG Paxton Sues Precious Metals IRA and Bullion Coin Scheme that Defrauded Senior Investors of Over $185 Million

AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton and the Texas State Securities Board joined the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and 29 other states to prevent Metals.com, Chase Metal, Barrick Capital, and others from continuing to defraud elderly people across the United States by convincing them to convert their retirement savings into precious metals.

Documents provided to purchasers contained blatant misrepresentations, grossly inflating the true value of the metals. Senior citizens across the nation suffered substantial losses of their retirement savings by relying on these misrepresentations.

“I will not stand by as these companies use deceptive tactics and underhanded attempts to siphon cash from Texans who seek only to wisely invest their hard-earned retirement savings. The abuse of hardworking Texans, particularly senior citizens who look forward to a secure retirement, cannot be allowed to continue,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Companies that take advantage of Texans will be held accountable.”

Despite a 2019 agreement to refund 84 Texas investors and strengthen company compliance and training, these companies continued to defraud its investors.

Today’s action requests that the Court order the companies to cease sales activity, return money to the defrauded investors, never again violate state and federal consumer protection laws, and appoint a receiver to take over the companies.

Read a copy of the filing here.

AG Paxton Releases Statement on U.S. Supreme Court Nominee Amy Coney Barrett

AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton today released the following statement regarding President Trump’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court of the United States:

AG Paxton Announces Joint Prosecution of Gregg County Organized Election Fraud in Mail-In Balloting Scheme

AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton today announced that authorities arrested Gregg County Commissioner Shannon Brown, Marlena Jackson, Charlie Burns, and DeWayne Ward on charges in connection with an organized vote harvesting scheme during the 2018 Democratic primary election.

To increase the pool of ballots needed to swing the race in Brown’s favor, the group targeted young, able-bodied voters to cast ballots by mail by fraudulently claiming the voters were “disabled,” in most cases without the voters’ knowledge or consent.

Under Texas election law, mail ballots based on disability are specifically reserved for those who are physically ill and cannot vote in-person as a result.

In total, the state filed 134 felony charges against the four defendants, including engaging in organized election fraud, illegal voting, fraudulent use of an application for a mail-in ballot, unlawful possession of a mail-in ballot, tampering with a governmental record, and election fraud. Penalties for these offenses range from six months in state jail to 99 years in prison.

A grand jury returned indictments on 23 felony counts against Commissioner Brown, 97 felony counts against Marlena Jackson, eight felony counts against Charlie Burns, and six felony counts against DeWayne Ward.

The Office of the Attorney General was assisted by the Gregg County Sheriff’s Office during the investigation. The Texas Attorney General will prosecute this case alongside the Gregg County District Attorney.

Read copies of the indictments here. 

Notification of Opinion

Original Request Summary RQ-0343-KP
Whether article II, section 1 of the Texas Constitution, relating to the separation of powers, applies to municipal government and the management of personnel.

Official Opinion Summary KP-0334
The separation of powers provisions of article II, section 1 of the Texas Constitution does not apply to municipal government.

Request for Opinion

Original Request Summary RQ-0380-KP
Whether a political subdivision may require the Department of Public Safety to lift driver license renewal holds requested under Transportation Code chapter 706 if the political subdivision has not met the requirements for sending a clearance notice under section 706.005 or has not collected the reimbursement fee under section.

Date Received
Thursday, September 24, 2020

Official Requestor
Ms. Jennifer D. Robison
Brown County Auditor
200 South Broadway
Brownwood, Texas 76801