search
Plus, The Real Deal maps what’s left of Nate Paul's real estate empire, Jon Venetos is personally on the hook for $19M and more Texas real estate news
SHARE THIS ARTICLE
FONT SIZE
Modern American life seems to increasingly involve dodging scams; from phishing texts to fake merchandise sold online, expensive traps are everywhere, and real estate is not exempt. 
This week in Texas real estate news featured two such stories, the first of which featured a familiar face: Dallas Cowboys SuperBowl 28 MVP Emmitt Smith. 
Smith and his partner David Mosley were sued on Monday in Delaware court by a Native American investor who accuses the pair of swindling $2.5 million for a Texas solar farm project, the Athletic reported. The development, dubbed Project Exodus, was planned for Caldwell County, which is between Austin and San Antonio. 
Kituwah, the economic development arm of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, claims its investment was instead used to pay off other business partners of Smith and Mosley. Kituwah is seeking the repayment of its loan plus interest. 
Project Exodus isn’t Smith’s first foray into real estate. He’s also an investor in a Hard Rock project in Pensacola. Smith’s partner in the project Quint Studer told ABC 3 that Smith “feels terrible” and “doesn’t think [the lawsuit] has any merit.” He also said the Pensacola project is on track.  
On the other end of the legal process, a Fort Worth couple was sentenced to time in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in connection with a $5 million home-building scheme. 
Through their company Judge DFW, Christopher and Raquelle Judge offered below-market bids on custom-built homes and remodels, advertising their services on social media and ultimately defrauding 40 clients across six Texas counties between 2020 and 2023.
The Judges’ clients were swindled out of hundreds of thousands of dollars for projects that were never completed or, in some cases, never started. Jeremy Congleton told Fox 4 News that he and his wife lost $250,000 to the Judges’ scheme, forcing them to file for bankruptcy and live in an RV for 18 months with their two daughters. 
Christopher Judge was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison. Raquelle Judge was sentenced to one month. They were also ordered to pay $2.8 million in restitution. 
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Disgraced Austin real estate investor Nate Paul once presided over a $1.2 billion real estate portfolio, including a valuable foothold in the Texas capital’s downtown. An FBI raid, 18-month federal investigation and 7 years later, his portfolio is a fraction of what it once was, and yearslong foreclosures battles continue to muddy the question of what’s left. The Real Deal combed through public records to map what’s left of his Austin holdings. Some properties were sold; others were lost to foreclosure; and some were reacquired by Paul after foreclosure sales. He’s still fighting to maintain ownership of the few that remain, despite persistent threats of foreclosure. 
The Lurin Capital founder’s financial troubles are far from over after his Dallas-based multifamily firm’s real estate portfolio spectacularly collapsed last year. Acore Capital Mortgage, which administered loans Lurin used to an apartment property in Florida, notched a summary judgment against Venetos in New York Supreme Court, which ordered him to pay the lender $19 million for guarantying loans the firm defaulted on.
Venetos fought Acore’s request for summary judgment, but the court baldly characterized his arguments as “bare legal conclusions and unsupported speculation” and rejected Venetos’ request for discovery. Meanwhile, the firm is in the middle of a bankruptcy process for multiple entities that own individual properties as well as its controlling entity, Lurin Advisors.
All rights reserved © 2026 The Real Deal is a registered Trademark of Korangy Publishing Inc.

source