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D.C. Attorney General Files RICO Suit to Dismantle Alleged Ponzi‑Like Landlord Enterprise

The filing seeks to bar the family from doing business in the District.

Overview

  • Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb sued Ali “Sam,” Eimon “Ray,” and Houri Razjooyan in D.C. Superior Court, alleging a racketeering enterprise built around their rental properties.
  • The complaint says the family amassed about 70 buildings with more than 600 units between 2015 and 2025, roughly 90% located in Wards 7 and 8.
  • Prosecutors allege a Ponzi‑style model that used false renovation claims and fabricated financials to obtain loans and drew over $16 million in housing subsidies through false habitability certifications.
  • Schwalb says this is the District’s first housing case brought under RICO, with filings describing infestations, winters without heat, flooding, and electrical hazards affecting hundreds of tenants.
  • The suit seeks injunctions to protect tenants, restitution, damages, civil penalties, and a business ban, names lenders including Red Oak Capital Holdings and New Day Commercial Capital as victims, and the Razjooyans deny the allegations.