The Galveston County Daily News recently did a story about us and we wanted to fact check what Hicks said. You can find the original story here.
You can find the full bankruptcy filings here, the campaign finance reports here, and the personal financial statement here.
Fact Check #1
Hicks filed for bankruptcy in early 2023 while a family member was suffering serious health issues that took a financial toll, he said.
In Texas, most types of medical debts may be discharged when you file Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Hicks claimed his debts were consumer related and of his many creditors, none were medical.
Fact Check #2
The bankruptcy was resolved that year and hasn’t been an issue since, Hicks said.
Hicks had to re-open the case in January of 2024 because he failed to take a financial management class. The bankruptcy was not officially closed until June of this year.
Fact Check #3
“Just because we had to do something like that doesn’t require you to be poor,” Hicks said. “I am not poor. For them to think that my wife and I can’t scratch together $12,000 considering we both work is ridiculous.”
His bankruptcy filings declared that he was unemployed in September 2023, his wife had no income, he had very few assets, and only $2,000 in cash. The personal financial statement he filed with the city in June 2024 lists “TNM, LLC” of Henrietta, NY, as his current employer but no record of that company exists.
Fact Check #4
A July 22 complaint to Texas Ethics Commission asserted Hicks failed to properly disclose a $12,000 loan from his wife, Deborah Hicks, on campaign finance reports.
Hicks asserted the commission was moving to drop the complaint because he had corrected the finance report to include the $12,000 loan, he said.
According to his corrected campaign finance report, his wife conveniently is the source of his $12,000 campaign loan and her occupation is listed as “High School Teacher” at a private cottage school which only operates on a part-time basis. Given their recent bankruptcy filing and current financial disclosures it is unclear how they managed to “scratch together” that much money.
