A man from Hays County, Joseph Browning, 49, has been arrested and charged with multiple felonies for defrauding individuals in the buying and selling of motor vehicles online, the Hays County Sheriff’s Office reports.
Browning faces a first-degree felony charge for theft exceeding $300,000, five counts of forgery of governmental instruments (third-degree felony), and three counts of forgery of financial instruments (state-jail felony). Authorities took Browning into custody Monday as he left his auto repair business on Rohde Road in Kyle.
The Texas Department of Public Safety had been investigating Browning for several years on allegations that he continued to conduct fraudulent vehicle sales and purchases via social media platforms like Facebook Marketplace, despite his revoked motor vehicle dealership license.
In addition to the fraud charges, Browning was indicted by a Hays County grand jury on September 10 on two felony charges related to causing bodily injury to a child. The sheriff’s office has not provided further details regarding these allegations.
Browning remains in custody at the Hays County Jail as investigations continue.
