RICHARDSON, TEXAS — The Texas Attorney General's Office filed a lawsuit in Collin County against Texas American Muslim University, alleging the institution unlawfully presented itself as a university, offered degrees it was not authorized to grant and misled prospective students about its legitimacy. The suit asks a judge to bar the organization from operating as a private university in Texas without approval from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

The lawsuit also seeks to prohibit Texas American Muslim University from using names, logos or branding that could lead people to believe it is connected to Texas A&M University or the Texas A&M University System. Attorney General Ken Paxton is seeking more than $1 million in civil penalties for alleged violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the Texas Education Code.

Texas American Muslim University advertised bachelor's and master's degree programs and promoted a student campus in Richardson, Texas. Earlier this year, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board issued a cease-and-desist letter to the organization and ordered it to stop all operations. The cease-and-desist letter was sent at the behest of Governor Greg Abbott.

The Texas A&M University System separately issued a cease-and-desist order to Texas American Muslim University demanding that it immediately stop using names, marks, domains and branding elements that infringe on or dilute Texas A&M's trademarks. Shahid A. Bajwa, the founder and chair of the organization, said the group had complied with the coordinating board's cease-and-desist letter, stopped using the university name and stopped offering graduate classes.

Bobbi Kessler, a coordinating board spokesperson, said she understood that Texas American Muslim University had complied with the cease-and-desist letter but that the board was looking into the matter.