Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton joined a coalition of Attorneys General from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming in a joint statement following the attacks by Hamas against Israel. The statement reads as follows: “We are outraged by the terrorist attack perpetrated by Hamas against Israel. Hamas, a genocidal […]
Ken Paxton
Attorney General Paxton Sues Yelp Over Discrimination Against Crisis Pregnancy Centers
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against Yelp after the company violated Texas’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act by appending inaccurate and misleading language to listings on pregnancy resource centers appearing in the search results on Yelp’s app and website. After the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision concluded that there is no constitutional right to an abortion, Yelp’s CEO issued a lengthy public statement expressing a self-professed need to “take action.” He boasted […]
Office of the Attorney General’s Civil Medicaid Fraud Division Recovers $42.7 Million in Taxpayer Funds
The Office of the Attorney General’s (“OAG”) Civil Medicaid Fraud Division settled an enforcement action brought under the Texas Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act (“TMFPA”) against pharmaceutical drug manufacturers Shire PLC, Baxter International Inc., Baxalta Inc., Viropharma Inc., Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc., and Takeda Pharmaceuticals America. The settlement resolves allegations that the drug manufacturers violated the TMFPA by providing, directly or indirectly, nursing and reimbursement services to Texas Medicaid providers for certain pharmaceutical drugs, as well […]
Paxton’s Office Investigates and Successfully Prosecutes Woman Who Attempted to Defraud Medicaid of Over $615,000
Attorney General Paxton’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit secured a conviction for a woman who attempted to steal over $615,000 by submitting fraudulent reimbursement claims for services that were never provided. Kay Le Farmer was convicted of using the provider number of her ex-husband, a therapist and Medicaid provider, to fraudulently submit claims to Medicaid. Farmer used the provider number, as well as patient information from the pediatrician’s office where she worked, to submit Medicaid claims […]
Paxton Takes Next Step in Lawsuit Against Biden Administration Over ESG Investing Rule that Risks the Retirement Savings of Over 150 Million Americans
To prevent a new U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) rule from inflicting substantial financial damage on the American people, Attorney General Paxton took the next step in his previously announced lawsuit against the Biden Administration by filing a motion for preliminary injunction. The DOL rule sacrifices millions of Americans’ retirement plans on the altar of Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) investing by placing the radical left’s climate and social agenda above sound financial investment principles. Under the rule, certain fund […]
Office of the Attorney General Provides Update on the Two-Year Anniversary of the Disappearance of Jason Landry
This week marks the second anniversary of Jason Landry’s disappearance. Attorney General Paxton and the entire Office of the Attorney General (OAG) want to reaffirm their commitment to this active and ongoing investigation and assure the public that this case remains a top priority with the following information: In February 2022, the Caldwell County District Attorney’s Office and the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office requested that the OAG Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit investigate the disappearance of Jason […]
Paxton’s Criminal Prosecutions Division Secures Guilty Verdict Against Man Who Sexually Assaulted a Child
Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Criminal Prosecutions Division trial team secured a guilty plea against a man who committed sexual assault of a child. The defendant, Troy Lee Smith, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault of a child and one count of indecency with a child, and he was sentenced to eight years in prison. Smith had been a martial arts instructor at Master Smith’s Martial Arts Academy in Woodville, Texas. In 2011, Smith […]
Paxton Leads Coalition to Push Back Against New EPA Standards That Put American Energy and National Security at Risk
Attorney General Paxton led a multistate coalition that filed a brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit to halt the implementation of radical climate regulations promulgated by the Biden Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Lacking statutory authority and relying upon the left-wing political goals of the Biden Administration as their justification, EPA has instituted harsh new rules that unreasonably target car and light truck greenhouse gas emissions. The purpose of such action, which EPA has readily admitted, is to force manufacturers to focus almost exclusively on electric vehicle production and, […]
Paxton Investigates Potential Violations of State Law
by Zuckerberg-Backed Center for Tech and Civic Life Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a Civil Investigative Demand (CID) to the Center for Tech and Civil Life (CTCL) as part of an investigation to determine whether the nonprofit solicited donations under the pretext of protecting voters from Covid-19 while instead using the funds to support partisan electioneering efforts or election oversight roles normally left to state and local officials. The CTCL, which advertises itself as a non-partisan organization, is led by individuals with distinctly partisan backgrounds. The Founder and Executive Director of CTCL, Tiana Epps-Johnson, was a part of the inaugural cohort of Obama […]
Paxton Announces Agreement in Principle in Opioid Settlement with CVS Pharmacy; Texas to Receive $276 million Under Proposed Deal
Attorney General Paxton announced plans to enter into a $5.034 billion multistate settlement with CVS Pharmacy for its role in the nationwide opioid epidemic, with over $276 million designated for Texas. The agreement will largely track the terms of the Global Prescription Opioid Litigation Settlement Agreement with opioid distributors that was executed in July 2021. “Millions of Americans have died or are sick due to the opioid epidemic. While significant work remains, a broad coalition […]