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One of the Houston Texans minority owners is facing a serious criminal charge. Javier Loya, who has been a minority owner since 2002, is facing rape and sexual abuse charges in the state of Kentucky. The arrest warrant was issued in May, but the date of the alleged incident is unknown.
According to NBC Sports, the Texans are aware of the issue:
“We are aware of the serious charges filed in the Commonwealth of Kentucky against Javier Loya, one of our outside limited partners. We have agreed with Mr. Loya that while these charges are pending, he will remove himself entirely from any team or League activities.”
Furthermore, aside from not responding to requests for comments, the league has stated that Loya will not be able to participate in anything related to the NFL. He is effectively barred for the time being:
"The club promptly notified the league of the serious pending charges against Mr. Loya after they were filed. Mr. Loya has not been permitted to participate in any league or club activity during this process. He is no longer on any league committees.”
Via NBC Sports, this is not the first time that Loya has been under investigation. The minority owner was investigated over gambling in 2008. The league said at the time:
“Javier Loya contacted our office several weeks ago about this matter involving a former employee at his energy company, and we have been in the process of looking into it."
Nothing much came of that investigation, since he was allowed to remain on the Texans. That may be a different story today as the NFL has cracked way down on gambling.
What is Javier Loya charged with?
Javier Loya is facing a rather long list of charges. The businessman is facing charges of rape, first-degree sexual abuse (five times), and third-degree sexual abuse.
The league is aware of his charges and is looking into the matter, but no decisions have been made as of now.
How much of the Texans does Javier Loya own?
A minority owner, such as Javier Loya, owns anything less than 50% of the team. That is what Loya is and has been since the very beginning. It's unclear the exact share he has as the figures have not been made public, but it is less than 50%.
When he first got on board, he didn't anticipate buying in. He wanted to meet owner Bob McNair, but didn't expect to buy a stake:
“At the time, I thought it might be fun just to go through the process, maybe get to meet McNair, and leave it like that. I didn’t want to be the Hispanic guy. They really wanted it to be the best franchise in the world. To do that, you need to have different owners and different viewpoints, different attitudes.”
He is still a minority owner (for now) to this day thanks to that meeting.
How did Javier Loya make his money?
Loya was one of the very first investors in the Texans, who first became a franchise in 2002. In 1994, Loya co-founded Choice! Energy LP with two partners. Choice was an energy brokerage firm specializing in natural gas. In 2000, he purchased the company and that is primarily where his money came from.
Once he became a minority owner of an NFL team, he began making money that way as well. Since then, he has maintained a net worth of about $5 million.
