HOUSTON — Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick revealed on Monday that the state auditor has uncovered “information suggesting the misuse of state funds” at Texas Southern University in Houston. The audit has been happening for a few months and has caused Patrick to direct the Texas Rangers to further investigate the university to see if there are any violations of state law.
Patrick further said that he was going to work with Gov. Greg Abbott and Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows to put a freeze on TSU’s spending until the results of the investigation can be resolved.
In a statement on X, Patrick said, “The losers are not only Texas taxpayers, but the students of TSU, having no idea that funding meant for their quality education was either fraudulently spent or thrown away by sloppy, unprofessional accounting processes.”
A letter that accompanied the statement said that the audit had identified 743 invoices totaling $282.2 million that were listed in the contracts database as “expired” and 8,144 invoices totaling near $158 million with invoice dates prior to their requisition dates.
In the statement, Patrick said, “The legislature has continued year-after-year to try to help the school. It appears the legislature has been misled over this time period on promised improvements in accounting practices and contracting.”
Over the last few months, the Texas State Auditor has been auditing Texas Southern University. They have been reviewing TSU’s financial processes, procurement operations, and inventory records.
Over the weekend, I was informed of disturbing information suggesting the misuse of… pic.twitter.com/c93sBTO826
— Office of the Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick (@LtGovTX) November 10, 2025