Fred Burton
ARCOLA, Texas - Arcola Mayor Fred Anthony Burton has been arrested on five felony charges, officials confirm.
According to Fort Bend County Jail records, he is facing two counts of illegal voting, one count of misuse of official information, one count of fraudulently securing the execution of a document and one count of tampering with a government record defraud/harm.
Illegal voting charges
The illegal voting charges stem from two elections –the Arcola Municipal Runoff Election on June 7, 2025, and the April 23, 2026, City of Arcola General, Joint, and Special Election.
According to the grand jury indictments, Burton is accused of helping, encouraging, or failing to prevent three people from voting when he knew they were ineligible to do so.
Allegations from 2023
The three other charges stem from 2023, during Burton’s previous term as mayor.
Misuse of official information charge: According to an indictment, Burton is accused of using information that had not been made public and that he allegedly accessed through his position as mayor. The indictment alleges Burton disclosed information about a competitive bid for a city contract to another person for a non-governmental purpose.
Tampering with a government record charge: Burton is also accused of knowingly presenting or using an allegedly false estimate connected to the Arcola Food Court Project.
Fraudulently securing the execution of a document charge: Another indictment alleges Burton caused two Arcola City Council members to sign or execute documents affecting the city’s financial interests without their effective consent. Court records state the alleged financial interest was valued at $30,000 or more but less than $150,000.
Burton's court appearance
Burton made his first court appearance before a Fort Bend County magistrate judge following his arrest.
His cases will now move forward through the Fort Bend County court system.
The Source: The information in this article comes from Fort Bend County court records including grand jury indictments.