Austin Investor Nate Paul Federal Sentencing in April

Austin investor Nate Paul is set to take the spotlight in April as he learns his punishment for misleading lenders.

Paul will face sentencing on April 16 in his federal case, the Austin Business Journal reported. His sentence will mark the end of an 18-month federal investigation into bank and wire fraud, during which he admitted to falsifying information to secure $64 million in loans.

As part of his plea agreement, federal prosecutors recommended a sentence of no more than six months in prison, five additional years of supervised release and a maximum fine of $1 million. Paul pleaded guilty on Jan. 15 to a single charge of making false statements to a lending institution, avoiding a trial.

The case against Paul included 12 charges, with allegations he falsified financial information to secure $172 million in loans and committed wire fraud against private investors. Federal prosecutors dropped most of the charges for reasons that haven’t been explained.

Paul’s legal team has not issued any statements regarding the case or the sentencing recommendation. In December, Paul was sentenced to 10 days in the Travis County Jail for contempt of court following a ruling that he had violated court orders in his dispute with the Mitte Foundation.

World Class Holdings, once a force in Austin’s commercial real estate market, has seen its portfolio shrink dramatically in recent years. The company has lost dozens of properties in the wake of a 2019 FBI raid that triggered a cascade of lawsuits and financial troubles.

While Paul has previously expressed a desire to continue his work in real estate, the April sentencing will likely play a pivotal role in determining his professional and personal future.

— Andrew Terrell