WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Indicted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton pleaded not guilty to security fraud charges and defrauding investors, US media reported.
In appearance in front of a Tarrant County judge, Paxton requested for his case to be tried in Collin County, Texas without TV coverage, NBC 5 reported on Thursday.
On August 3, Paxton surrendered to police after the authorities issued three felony charges.
He has been charged on two counts of securities fraud and one count of acting as investment adviser without registration, which date back to his tenure at the Texas House of Representatives.
After the not guilty plea reading, Paxton's defense attorney Joe Kendall withdrew as his counsel citing differences with his client that made work "untenable," according to media reports.
If convicted on the two first felony charges, Paxton can be sentenced to 99 years in prison, while he can receive a ten-year sentence for the third charge.
