Office Landlord Ali Choudhri Faces Jail Time in Federal Probe

A Houston developer could face jail time after repeatedly defying a federal subpoena.

A U.S. District Court judge threatened Ali Choudhri, CEO of Jetall Companies, with imprisonment and $1,000-a-day fines for failing to turn over emails related to a U.S. Department of Justice investigation, Bisnow reported.

The DOJ has been seeking records since April 2022 as part of a civil probe under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act. But attorneys haven’t explained the exact violations of the act Choudhri is accused of.

Federal prosecutors sued Choudhri and Jetall last fall to force compliance. After multiple deadline extensions and failed document productions — including one 9,000-page unsearchable PDF — Judge Lee Rosenthal ordered Choudhri to appear in court last week with either the requested files or a “proverbial toothbrush.”

While a newly appointed attorney secured a temporary reprieve and handed over some partial records, Rosenthal left jail time and sanctions firmly on the table.

Choudhri’s legal team has cited technical issues with processing old emails from Jetall’s accounts, but DOJ attorneys say the developer is stonewalling.

“We’re not worrying about a technology problem,” Rosenthal said in court. “We’re worrying about a failure of will.”

This marks the latest escalation in a growing list of legal troubles for Choudhri, who has been described in court by a bankruptcy judge as a “forger and a liar.” A new court hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.

Last year, a federal court stripped him of ownership of the 283,000-square-foot TwentyFour25 West Loop South building, which had been mired in foreclosure proceedings since 2021. Choudhri allegedly refused to vacate a suite at the building despite the ruling, according to a claim from lender National Bank of Kuwait.

Choudhri has cycled through five legal teams during the DOJ investigation and has been named in over 100 lawsuits across various jurisdictions, according to the outlet’s review from 2023.

— Judah Duke