Fort Bend politician arrested for faking Facebook account, accused of impersonating judge – Houston Public Media

A Fort Bend politician accused of creating fake Facebook accounts to attack his opponents faces new charges.

According to a search warrant, prosecutors believe Patel may also have impersonated a judge on social media. Patel is the Democratic candidate for Fort Bend County Commissioner, Precinct 3.

It was stopped last month after allegations he used a fake Facebook account to attack his opponents and post racist comments on his own campaign page.

After the arrest, investigators obtained a search warrant for Patel's phone.They found a Facebook account on the phone under the name of Surendran Pattel, the judge for the 240th District Court in Fort Bend County. The account was linked to the email address [email protected].

Investigators questioned the judge, who said he did not create the account.

Court records show that Taral Patel's criminal case was assigned to the judge's court, but was transferred to another court earlier this week.

The judge said KPRC – who first reported the new allegations – said he was recusing himself because of investigators' latest findings and because he knew Patel.

Taral Patel has not yet been charged with impersonating the judge, court documents show.

Prosecutors have asked Facebook for information regarding the judge's fake account.