Rep. Keith Self Urges Federal Probes Into Texas Muslim Development After Watchdog Report

Rep. Keith Self called for additional federal probes after a watchdog group raised legal and constitutional concerns about a proposed Muslim-centered development in his district.

The Oversight Project, a watchdog group, alleges in a new report Thursday that the East Plano Islamic Center, or EPIC, is violating federal law in spearheading the development of “EPIC City,” a planned 400-acre community outside Dallas, Texas. The development near Josephine, Texas—also referred to as “The Meadow”—would include housing, a mosque, schools, and commercial businesses.

“The Oversight Project’s bombshell report indicates that the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC) is violating federal tax law, civil rights law, securities law, and housing law. If true, EPIC should have their 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status revoked,” Self, a Texas Republican, said.

The Justice Department dropped an earlier fair housing investigation into the community, and EPIC has repeatedly said it is in full compliance with the law. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development launched a separate probe into possible housing discrimination.

“In addition to the ongoing Housing and Urban Development (HUD) investigation, I am calling on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Department of Justice (DOJ) to launch additional probes into EPIC and its affiliates for violating federal law. The rule of law must be upheld,” Self said.

But the Oversight Project report notes that the community “sold out within days of its original announcement in 2024.”

The Oversight Project asserts its findings raise issues regarding EPIC’s tax-exempt status since a nonprofit created a for-profit entity known as Community Capital Partners, which functions as the project’s developer.

“This explicit financial arrangement—where a nonprofit mosque (i.e., EPIC) has created a for-profit entity (i.e., ERP and/or CCP) that exists solely to funnel all of its profits back to the nonprofit mosque—raises serious constitutional, tax, and practical concerns, especially given that it is geared toward the development of a Sharia-compliant community in EPIC City,” the report says.

“The Oversight Project’s legal analysis of this arrangement, consisting of a straightforward application of the relevant bodies of law to our examination of public records returns, finds that EPIC is likely in violation of its 501(c)(3) federal tax-exempt status,” the report continues.

Community Capital Partners sold investment shares that were typically priced at $80,000 to individuals seeking to build homes in the community, according to the report.

“The Oversight Project posed as a potential investor interested in purchasing a share of property in EPIC City,” the report says. “Marketing materials received through that outreach show EPIC City and CCP sold nearly 500 lots in EPIC City, generating approximately $40 million in capital. Other records show that during the relevant time period, EPIC exclusively marketed the development to Muslims. Thus, it is highly plausible that EPIC raised $40 million in capital by selling plots of land exclusively to Muslims.”

The report goes on to assert that if this is going to be a town or governmental jurisdiction, it poses problems for the Establishment Clause of the Constitution.

“All actions taken by EPIC to direct, manage, or operate EPIC City should therefore constitute state actions subject to constitutional constraints, including the fundamental public policies concerning religious establishment, exercise, and expression set forth in the First Amendment,” the report says.

It further states the project could violate the Texas Fair Housing Act and the federal Fair Housing Act, which ban discrimination based on religion, among other factors.

The report notes that developers later “scrubbed its public website and changed the advertising language to claim it will be an inclusive community.”

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division opened a probe last year at the urging of Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said in June that the DOJ closed its investigation, and “CCP has affirmed that all will be welcome in any future development, and that you plan to revise and develop marketing materials to reinforce that message consistent with your obligations under the Fair Housing Act.”

At the state level, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed two lawsuits. The December 2025 suit alleges violations of state securities laws tied to the sale of investment shares. A February action challenges the legality of a municipal utility district created to support the development.

A Collin County, Texas, court issued a temporary restraining order on March 19, followed by a temporary injunction on March 30, barring the would-be EPIC Municipal Utility District from taking any further action.

Amid the flurry of state and federal probes, Dan Cogdell, an attorney for EPIC City, told the Associated Press his clients have “done nothing illegal and we will cooperate fully with all investigations—regardless of how misguided and unnecessary they are.”

Cogdell added allegations “are not only completely without merit and totally misleading but they are dangerous as well.”

He said, “These folks are US Citizens, law abiding and Texans.”