a real person...shocking
Come on Taral Patel, you're better than that
Taral Patel is charged with online impersonation, a felony, and misrepresentation of identity, a misdemeanor, the Fort Bend County District Attorney's Office said.
Author: Michelle Homer, KHOU 11 Staff
Published: 6:47 PM CDT June 14, 2024
Updated: 7:06 PM CDT June 14, 2024
FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas — We've learned more about what led to the arrest this week of a candidate for Fort Bend County Precinct 3 commissioner.
According to the Fort Bend County District Attorney's Office, Taral Patel is charged with online impersonation, a felony, and misrepresentation of identity, a misdemeanor.
According to a lengthy court document obtained by KHOU 11 News, Patel created a fake Facebook account using the name "Antonio Scalywag." He used a photo of a Needville man for his profile picture, an investigator with the DA's office said.
The investigator said Patel used the account from October 2022 to May 2024. She said Patel made racist posts about himself under the alias of "Antonio Scalywag" and then issued a press release saying he'd been the victim of racist attacks. He included a collage of the posts by "Scalywag" in the release.
The investigator learned the same alias had also been used to attack Precinct 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers before Patel launched his campaign to run against Meyers.
She tracked down the man whose photo was used in the fake account. He said it was done without his knowledge.
Patel was released from jail after posting bond.
We've reached out to him for comment but haven't heard back.