Editing Sharpstown scandal (section)

{{Short description|1971 Texas stock fraud scandal}}
[[Image:Gus Mutscher, Preston Smith, Lyndon Johnson, and Ben Barnes.jpg|thumb|(From left to right) House Speaker [[Gus Franklin Mutscher|Gus F. Mutscher]] (D), Governor [[Preston Smith (governor)|Preston Smith]] (D), former president [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] (D), and Lieutenant Governor [[Ben Barnes (Texas politician)|Ben Barnes]] (D), at "Gus Mutscher Day" in [[Brenham, Texas]], August 17, 1970. Within two years, the political careers of Mutscher, Smith, Barnes, and numerous other state officials would be ended by the Sharpstown scandal. President Johnson was not involved.]]

The '''Sharpstown scandal''' was a [[Pump and dump|stock fraud]] scandal in the state of [[Texas]] in 1971 and 1972 involving the highest levels of the state government. The name came from the involvement of the [[Sharpstown, Houston|Sharpstown]] area of [[Houston]].