Nate Paul Wants to Postpone Wire Fraud Trial Until Next Year

Embattled Austin developer Nate Paul continues to delay the stack of legal challenges against him.

The World Class Holdings CEO is seeking a delay in his bank and wire fraud trial until January 2025 due to the sheer volume of evidence and the complexity of the case, KXAN reported.

The trial, already postponed once for similar reasons, was slated to commence on July 29. But Paul’s legal team argued that the current timeline is insufficient for reviewing over 4 million documents, exacerbated by a recent superseding indictment that introduces fresh complexities.

“The government investigated this case for nearly a decade, and no doubt has its own view of what is most important,” Paul’s attorneys said in the motion. “Defense counsel is entitled to adequate time to conduct its own review of the discovery, and assess its relative importance.”

The mountain of evidence includes a Microsoft Access database encompassing 700 bank accounts, FBI email correspondences dating back to 2014, Texas State Securities Board files, questionnaires sent by the FBI to World Class investors in 2020 and other records instrumental to the case, the outlet reported.

While federal prosecutors didn’t oppose rescheduling, they suggested a trial date in October 2024, which Paul’s team rejected. The case against Paul originated in June 2023, with charges of making false statements to mortgage lenders. A superseding indictment in November included four additional wire fraud and conspiracy charges spanning eight years, implicating Paul in fraudulent activities related to limited partnerships and misrepresentation of financial information.

Paul has maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty to all charges.

A once-thriving Austin real estate player, he 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