Nate Paul was booked into the Travis County Jail to serve a ten-day sentence for contempt

Austin real estate developer Nate Paul began serving a 10-day jail sentence Thursday evening for contempt of court in connection with a civil lawsuit unrelated to his criminal indictment accusing him of financial crimes.

Records show Paul was booked into the Travis County Jail at 10:14 p.m., just hours before his court-ordered appearance time.

State District Judge Jan Soifer ordered Paul to begin serving the contempt sentence she first handed him last year by Friday, saying he “continually refused” to comply with a court order in a civil case accusing him of defrauding a nonprofit.

The Austin-based Roy F. and Joann Cole Mitte Foundation sued Paul, accusing him of fraud. Paul has denied wrongdoing.

More: Austin developer Nate Paul was ordered to serve 10 days in jail. This is why.

In addition, Paul faces an eight-count federal financial crimes indictment filed in June 2023, accusing him of committing wire fraud by deceptive financial institutions, as well as a follow-up four-count indictment announced in November. His attorneys have argued in court papers and at a hearing last month that federal prosecutors unlawfully obtained evidence they plan to use against him at trial and also obtained documents that should be protected as an attorney -client privilege.

During last year’s impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton, Paul’s name came up repeatedly as the Texas House approved 20 indictments accusing the state’s top attorney of improperly accepting gifts and other favors from the developer. Paxton was later acquitted of the charges by the Texas Senate in a vote that was largely along party lines, and Paul was never called to testify.

The House impeachment managers argued that Paxton improperly accepted gifts from Paul, which attorneys for the attorney general disputed time and time again.

This article originally appeared in Austin American-Statesman: Why developer Nate Paul was booked into the Travis County Jail