Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, who has made fighting corruption a central part of his campaign, attended a Dallas-area fundraiser earlier this month at the home of a convicted fraudster who has donated thousands of dollars to his campaign.
The August 6 fundraiser in DeSoto, Texas, was hosted at the home of Thomas Merrill Gaubert, 86, a Dallas-area real estate developer and former savings-and-loan owner who served three years in federal prison for bankruptcy fraud and money laundering.
Federal Election Commission records show Gaubert donated $3,500 to Talarico’s campaign in September 2025 and another $3,500 in March 2026.
Photos from the event show Talarico speaking poolside at Gaubert’s home, with the convicted fraudster seated nearby. In another image, Talarico poses for a photograph as Gaubert, wearing a pink collared shirt and khaki shorts, stands in the background. The Daily Wire independently reviewed the address and photos of the property and confirmed that the images were taken at the home.
Talarico poses for a photo as Thomas Gaubert appears in the background in a pink shirt.
In 1993, Gaubert was convicted in federal court on 10 counts, including bankruptcy fraud and money laundering. At the time, he was also awaiting trial in a separate case in which he later pleaded guilty to bank fraud. Gaubert served three years in federal prison, according to NPR. Gaubert cost taxpayers roughly $500 million by looting his Independent American Savings Association, prosecutors said.
Gaubert contended his innocence and blamed regulators for driving his S&L into the ground. “They can put you in jail, they can destroy you if you let them. But if you’ve got good work ethic and you’re smart people and you’re willing to work hard, the world doesn’t end,” Gaubert told the outlet in 2008.
In a 1996 profile, D Magazine described the Talarico supporter as a high-profile Democratic fundraiser who had raised millions for former U.S. House Speaker Jim Wright (D-TX) and other elected officials before his real estate empire collapsed.
Gaubert’s bankruptcy fraud conviction followed an earlier federal criminal case in 1988 involving a $32 million loan tied to a condominium project, The New York Times reported. He was acquitted of all five counts in that case.
The exclusive fundraiser, helped by the Dallas County Democratic Party, was also co-hosted by Jacob Zachariah, a criminal defense attorney whose law firm represents people accused of crimes against children.
Talarico’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the candidate was aware of Gaubert’s criminal history when he attended the fundraiser or whether the campaign intends to return Gaubert’s donations.
On the campaign trail, however, Talarico has frequently branded Ken Paxton “the most corrupt politician in America” — despite previously arguing that Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) was even more corrupt.
“I was part of the bipartisan majority in the Texas House that voted to impeach our corrupt attorney general, so I know his crimes better than most people do. But I would say that John Cornyn is even more corrupt than Ken Paxton,” Talarico said in a recent interview. “John Cornyn was the deciding vote on that big ugly bill last year.”
“It’s a bill that is going to kick millions of Texans off their health care. It’s going to take food out of the mouths of hungry Texas children, all to give yet another tax break to John Cornyn’s billionaire mega donors,” he added. “Ken Paxton was impeached for using his public office to enrich his donors in a very literal illegal way, but John Cornyn, at a massive scale, is using his public office to enrich his donors, so to me, it’s two sides of the same corrupt coin.”
The Texas Senate acquitted Ken Paxton of all 16 impeachment articles in 2023 after the state House accused him of corruption and abuse of office, The Daily Wire reported.
Impeachment managers alleged Paxton accepted bribes from Austin real estate developer and campaign donor Nate Paul, including an agreement to hire Paxton’s alleged mistress and renovations to his home, in exchange for helping Paul as he faced an FBI investigation. Paxton’s defense attorney Tony Buzbee called the impeachment proceedings a “political witch hunt.”
With 68 days to go until Election Day, Cook Political Report rates the race — which could determine control of the Senate — as a toss-up.
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