Paxton spent New Year’s Eve in Dubai with two men under federal indictment, one of whom had given him $190,000

What happened

On Dec. 31, 2024, Paxton attended a New Year’s Eve party in a high-rise overlooking the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the Wall Street Journal reported, based on video it reviewed. His girlfriend was with him. ^{01 02}

Also there were Anosh Ahmed and Sameer Suhail. Both had been indicted months earlier in a federal case accusing them of stealing $15 million from a Chicago hospital where Ahmed had been chief financial officer, and neither had returned to the U.S. to face the charges. Ahmed was also charged in a separate case over at least $195 million in alleged payments for bogus COVID-19 tests. ^{01 02}

Campaign finance records reviewed by the Journal show Ahmed gave Paxton $190,000, including $25,000 days after Ahmed was indicted. ^{01 02}

Both men later returned to the U.S. Ahmed has pleaded not guilty to additional charges and is in custody. ⁰¹

Why it matters

The state’s chief law enforcement officer socialized abroad with a major donor who was avoiding federal fraud charges, and kept taking his money after the indictment. ^{01 02}

What the sources show

The account is the Wall Street Journal’s reporting, based on video and campaign finance records. The Journal’s article is paywalled; this site relies on Mediaite’s and Political Wire’s accounts of it. Neither man has been convicted in the hospital case. ^{01 02}