Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit seeking to halt what he calls an illegal land and securities development scheme tied to a proposed 400-acre community known as “EPIC City,” according to a report published Friday by Fox News. The suit targets the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC), Community Capital Partners (CCP), and several associated leaders, with Paxton alleging the project was marketed in ways that violated state law.
At the center of the case is the state’s claim that the EPIC City plan combined real-estate development with fundraising activity that Paxton argues crosses legal lines. The lawsuit follows a state probe that concluded the developers engaged in alleged fraud and used promotional materials that appeared aimed at Muslim buyers, according to Fox News. In his public statement, Paxton characterized the effort as a scheme designed both to divert property and benefit insiders, saying the individuals behind EPIC City had “engaged in a radical plot” to destroy hundreds of acres of Texas land while “line their own pockets.”
The alleged marketing strategy is described by Texas officials as particularly significant. Fox News reported that the state pointed to early website language and videos that portrayed the community as a special religious enclave. Among the promotional claims cited in the filing is branding that described EPIC City as the “epicenter of Islam in North America,” framing the development as centered on Islam rather than presented as a neutral residential project open to the public at large.
Texas officials also allege that EPIC City marketed itself as a Muslims-only community—an assertion Paxton’s office says runs afoul of state requirements. The state’s position, as characterized in the Fox News report, is that while a religious community may choose to worship together, selling access to land or investment participation under an arrangement that excludes others in a legally sensitive manner can trigger state enforcement when the fundraising and development components are intertwined.
The lawsuit’s named defendants include both organizations associated with the project and leaders described as part of the development effort. The report indicates that Paxton seeks legal relief that would allow the state to pursue remedies related to the alleged securities and land scheme, including addressing what the lawsuit characterizes as misleading promotional tactics and improper conduct connected to EPIC City’s rollout.
As of publication, Fox News Digital said it had requested comment from EPIC, CCP, and Paxton’s office. No statements from the defendants were included in the report summary. The absence of a response from the targeted groups leaves open the question of how they interpret the allegations—whether they contest that the marketing was exclusionary, dispute that fundraising materials constitute a securities offering under state law, or argue that their project does not violate the legal standards the attorney general is invoking.
The EPIC City case arrives in a broader environment where investigations into alleged fraud and misleading practices have drawn heightened attention from law enforcement agencies. For example, CNN recently reported that the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security said they were surging resources into Minnesota to investigate allegations of fraud, including at child care centers, after a viral video alleged widespread misconduct at Somali-run child care facilities; the report noted the investigation focus was prompted in part by a YouTube content creator known for past anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim content. That Minnesota account underscores how allegations involving targeted communities and claims of deception can quickly draw major investigative attention.
In Texas, scrutiny of alleged wrongdoing can also surface through allegations related to community institutions rather than solely through traditional corporate wrongdoing. Another Texas-related segment from ABC13 Houston described how a man at Bush Intercontinental Airport allegedly managed to board a United flight after a reservation was canceled and a boarding pass appeared to be forged, with the report emphasizing multiple layers and failures in the security process. While that situation is distinct from real-estate and fundraising, it reflects the way authorities evaluate systems when compliance failures or alleged deception play a role in public risk.
Paxton’s lawsuit similarly centers on the question of whether the EPIC City developers structured their project and promotion in a way that misled investors or buyers and whether the scheme violated Texas law. The state’s claims—fraud allegations, a land development plan, and the contention that the community was marketed as Muslims-only—are framed in the Fox News report as elements of a single enforcement story rather than unrelated complaints.
Legal observers will likely focus on how the lawsuit characterizes the relationship between promotion, eligibility, and fundraising. If the state proves that promotional materials were not merely aspirational messaging but instead part of an actionable offer to investors or buyers tied to securities requirements, then Paxton’s claims could carry substantial consequences for the named entities. Conversely, the defense may argue that the marketing was protected expression, that the project did not involve improper securities activity, or that the state’s interpretation of the scheme’s legality does not match the facts.
Regardless of the eventual outcome, the case spotlights how attorneys general can use consumer-protection and securities-related authorities in disputes that begin with advertising and fundraising and end with formal legal action. Paxton’s lawsuit against EPIC City developers, reported by Fox News, sets the stage for court proceedings in which the allegations—ranging from alleged fraud to “Muslim-only” marketing claims—will be tested under Texas law and presented against the defendants’ account of what the project was intended to be. For now, Fox News says it has sought comment from each side, leaving the public to wait for the litigation’s next documented development. News Source
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