Bay Area Houston

I expected Justin Hicks’ ethics complaint, filed with the State, concerning an unreported $12,000 loan to be resolved quickly but not like this.

The Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) began an investigation into an anonymous loan Hicks reported on his July report. According to his report Hicks raised $0 but listed an outstanding loan amount of $12,000. None of his previous reports listed the date of the loan or who loaned the money. The TEC accepted the complaint and it looks like Hicks responded quickly to put this issue to rest………sort of.

Quick background story
Back in 2009 a complaint against State Representative John Davis was filed for hiding tens of thousand of dollars behind a credit card. Instead of listing what the campaign purchased, how much was paid, and who was paid, he listed only a payment to AMEX. Davis paid all of his campaign expenses with an AMEX and then used his donors money to pay the monthly bill. Davis quickly amended his reports and, as required by law, detailed his expenditures. That amended report led to another complaint resulting in him having to repay his campaign thousands for spending his donor’s money on personal items. SC-2610197 & SC-2610215

Back to Hicks.
So like Davis, Hicks filed an amended report this time listing when the loan was made and who made the loan, and like Davis, something isn’t right. According to the amended report the loan was made on 7/12/24, one day before the report was filed with League City. How could the campaign treasurer just “forget” to list a $12,000 loan, the only funds available to use for the campaign? It is concerning because the person who gave the loan is Justin Hicks wife, Deborah Hicks, and the treasurer of Justin Hicks’ campaign is his wife, Deborah Hicks.

It might be worse
Hicks has recently been discharged from a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. He was required to list all assets including property, vehicles, guns (he didn’t list any), bank accounts, and anything else of value. The Texas Ethics Commission frowns upon those who hide campaign donations. Usually it costs more in fines than the amount of the hidden donations if caught. Bankruptcy is handled in Federal Courts. The TEC would have no jurisdiction in a follow up complaint but they do have the authority to demand proof of where this $12,000 came from.

It just seems strange that right after coming out of bankruptcy Hicks can suddenly qualify for a new car loan and come up with $12,000 to finance his campaign for League City Council. Maybe he is a financial genius after all.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 29th, 2024 at 6:56 am and is filed under Political. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.