State Securities Board Finding Undercuts Paxton Lawsuit Against Muslim-Centric ‘Meadow’ Development
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s bid to halt a planned Muslim-centered housing development outside Dallas has been weakened by a determination from the Texas State Securities Board that found no securities violations in the project before Paxton filed suit, according to a summary of the Board’s response shared by FOX 4 journalist Richard Ray and other outlets. The development, formerly known as EPIC City and now marketed as “The Meadow,” is planned as a roughly 400-acre, 1,000-home community with a mosque, K–12 school, and services in Collin and Hunt counties; Paxton is still pursuing a securities fraud case in Collin County despite the Board’s earlier conclusion.
Securities Board Found No Violations
In October, Paxton asked the Texas State Securities Board to review his office’s findings from a months-long probe into the EPIC City/The Meadow project and to refer the case for enforcement, a step required before the attorney general can sue under state securities law, FOX 4 News reported. After examining documents and responses from Community Capital Partners, the project’s investment vehicle, the Board told Paxton it did not identify securities violations. It declined to issue the requested referral, according to a Board communication described in Ray’s Facebook post and related coverage.
Instead, the Board suggested that if Paxton wished to continue, he should explore other legal avenues unrelated to securities enforcement. Despite that guidance, Paxton filed a lawsuit weeks later alleging unregistered securities activity and misrepresentation of the project’s location and leadership compensation, court filings and news reports from KERA and the Texas Tribune stated.
Details of ‘The Meadow’ Project
The project, first branded EPIC City by the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC), envisions more than 1,000 single- and multi-family homes, a new mosque, a K–12 faith-based school, senior housing, commercial areas, sports facilities, and community services across about 402 acres in unincorporated Collin and Hunt counties, roughly 40 miles northeast of Dallas near Josephine, according to KERA and Yahoo News. The development has since been rebranded as “The Meadow” but retains its concept as a Muslim-centric master-planned community anchored by EPIC.
KERA reported that Paxton’s suit accuses EPIC, Community Capital Partners, and project leaders of failing to properly register securities, inadequately vetting “accredited investors,” and misleading potential investors about whether the development would lie within Josephine’s city limits or in adjacent unincorporated land. Paxton has sought a temporary restraining order and permanent injunction to halt fundraising and block the project from moving forward.
Political and Community Backdrop
The Meadow has drawn intense scrutiny from Republican officials and some commentators who have framed the plan in cultural and religious terms, with Texas Governor Greg Abbott previously posting that “Sharia law is not allowed in Texas” in connection with the EPIC City controversy, according to FOX 4 and other local reports. U.S. Representative Chip Roy also criticized the project on social media, claiming that “the folks that are coming here do not want to assimilate” and referencing “mosques that are exploding in Texas” and those “funding Epic City.”
At the same time, federal authorities examining some complaints have not found evidence of criminal intent behind the development. FOX 4 and other outlets reported that a U.S. Department of Justice probe into alleged religious discrimination issues related to the project was closed without charges earlier this year. Supporters of the development say it is a lawful effort by Muslims in North Texas to build a community with religious, educational, and social facilities similar to many faith-based master-planned developments elsewhere in the state.
Paxton’s Case Faces New Hurdles
Paxton has characterized the plan in stark language, calling the leaders behind EPIC City “radical” actors engaged in a scheme to “destroy hundreds of acres of beautiful Texas land and line their own pockets,” according to statements quoted by the Texas Tribune and multiple Texas outlets. However, the Securities Board’s conclusion that it found no securities violations before he filed suit may become a key exhibit for defense attorneys arguing that the case is politically or ideologically driven rather than grounded in securities law.
Developers and their representatives now have both the Board’s findings and the closed federal probe as they contest Paxton’s lawsuit, even as they continue to face local opposition and heightened media scrutiny. Future court hearings in Collin County will determine whether Paxton can proceed with his securities claims or whether the state’s prior review and the absence of federal charges will significantly limit his efforts to stop The Meadow from being built.