Taral Patel, former Fort Bend County candidate, pleads guilty to 2 misdemeanor charges

Taral Patel, a former candidate for Fort Bend County Pct. 3 commissioner, pleaded guilty to two counts of misdemeanor misrepresentation of identity by a candidate, officials say.

Taral Patel misdemeanor plea

According to the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office, Patel pleaded guilty to the two misdemeanor counts of misrepresentation of identity by a candidate and admitted to committing one along with Fort Bend County Judge KP George. 

He agreed to a 2-year deferred adjudication probation. As part of the agreement, the DA’s office says he must:

• Complete 200 hours of community service
• Have no contact with the victims or harassing/threatening contact with the elected officials he maligned (Andy Meyers and Surendran Pattel)
• Write letters of apology to each victim and the Fort Bend community at large
• Cooperate in future legal proceedings

In exchange for the plea, the remaining misdemeanor charges were dropped.

Felony charge agreement

Patel agreed to a 2-year pre-trial intervention on his four felony charges of online impersonation, officials say. 

As part of the agreement, he must:

• Complete 400 hours of community service
• Make a $2,000 donation to the Fort Bend Partnership for Youth
• Other standard terms

The felonies will be dismissed if he completes his probation and intervention.

"We can all move forward"

What they're saying:

"Justice and accountability were achieved today when Taral Patel accepted responsibility and pled guilty to the offenses," said District Attorney Brian Middleton. "We believe the terms of the plea bargain are fair for the community and for the defendant. Now we can all move forward."

 Allegations against Patel, George

The backstory:

Patel ran for Fort Bend County Pct. 3 commissioner in November 2024, losing to incumbent Andy Meyers.

The race for the position was marred with allegations that Patel set up fake social media accounts to post racist comments aimed at his own campaign.

Documents state Patel posted a press release on Sept. 18, 2023, showing a collage of "racist" social media posts. One of the comments in the post read, "I am with Meyers ALL THE WAY. . .unlike Patel and his followers who worship Monkey and Elephant."

The story took a shocking turn when Fort Bend County Judge KP George was accused of taking part in a similar scheme with Patel in 2022.

The other side:

George has denied the accusations against him.

What they're saying:

The following statement was issued by Judge George's attorney, Jared Woodfill:

"The Fort Bend County DA, Brian Middleton, knows there is no evidence that Judge George engaged in any illegal activity in violation of the Texas Election Code or any other statute. That is why he broke the law and bypassed the Texas Ethics Commission prior to indicting Judge George for an alleged campaign violation. 

Interestingly, DA Middleton has been found to have violated the Texas Election Code and sanctioned for his conduct. However, he did not prosecute himself. Mr. Patel’s plea agreement, which is a mere slap on the wrist, appears to be the DA’s effort to further manufacture a case against Judge George, cutting backroom deals in exchange for testimony. 

Attorney Brian Middleton is using Mr. Patel as a pawn in an effort to take out his political opponent, Judge George. Judge George has never even been found liable by Texas Ethics Commission, the body responsible for investigating alleged violations of the Texas Election Code. 

This case is about DA Middleton capturing the news headline in an effort to influence an election in his favor. This weaponization of the district attorneys office should concern every resident of Fort Bend County and the State of Texas. If a DA can abuse his office in an effort to take out a high profile political opponent, what chance is there for the every day citizen when he or she crosses a politically ambitious DA. 

Judge George will continue to stand against injustice and for all residents of Fort Bend County."

Fort Bend CountyCrime and Public Safety