UPDATE, APRIL 24, 5 P.M. CT: Ali Choudhri was released from U.S. Marshals Service detention late Thursday afternoon after further details about Jetall Cos.’ finances were filed in court this week. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Jeffrey Norman said that although Choudhri’s documentation remains incomplete, he was free to go with the expectation that he would file complete information within seven days or be arrested again.

ORIGINAL STORY:

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Jeffrey Norman turned Houston real estate investor Ali Choudhri over to the custody of U.S. marshals following an emergency motion hearing Monday, saying it was a last-straw attempt “to get Mr. Choudhri to do what he needs to do.”

Norman first issued an arrest warrant for Choudhri on Wednesday for contempt of court after the Jetall Cos. founder and CEO failed to produce court-ordered bankruptcy schedules and a statement of his financial affairs in a case regarding the company's Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Despite the order and instructions that he report to the marshals' office Thursday, Choudhri spent the weekend free after filing a new schedule and an emergency motion for relief Thursday.

Choudhri also filed new financial information to the court late Sunday night. But Norman denied the motion due to the schedules remaining incomplete and inaccurate.

“I don’t know what else I can do to get Mr. Choudhri to do what he needs to do,” Norman said before ordering marshals to take him into custody.

Choudhri and his attorney argued that they need access to former Jetall office buildings at 1001 W. Loop S. and 2425 W. Loop S. to retrieve information to complete the schedules. Those properties have been subjects of foreclosure proceedings, and Jetall has lost access to both.

“I feel like I’ve been put into an impossibility trap by this court,” Choudhri said on the witness stand Monday.

But Norman noted in a court filing that a pleading seeking emergency access to the properties wasn't filed until Thursday, the day after Norman filed an arrest warrant.

The last-minute filings represent a “continuation of a pattern of delay by Choudhri that must end,” Norman wrote.

“If I don’t put him in the custody of the U.S. marshal, we’re going to continue to play this game over and over and over and over again, and I’m not going to do it,” Norman said in court Monday. “I’m going to deny the motion for release. … The U.S. marshal can take him into custody, and as soon as he files complete schedules, I’m more than happy to let him out.”

Two U.S. marshals sat in the back of the courtroom throughout the three-hour hearing Monday morning before Choudhri was taken into custody.

Choudhri was also threatened with arrest earlier this month in a separate legal matter in which he was told to appear in court with a toothbrush.

In that case, the Department of Justice is suing him for not complying with its subpoenas to turn over information relevant to an investigation. Choudhri has been slow to hand over documents there as well, with his attorneys blaming technical difficulties with collecting and compiling emails.

U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal granted Choudhri a third extension within two weeks on April 7 after Choudhri appeared with a new attorney and made partial productions to the DOJ.

At one time, Jetall claimed to be the largest private owner of commercial office space in Houston's Galleria submarket. But its CEO has become entangled in a long list of litigation in recent years regarding many of those properties.

Choudhri once owned 2425 W. Loop S. but lost it through a yearslong foreclosure, bankruptcy and eviction battle. National Bank of Kuwait, which issued a $60.2M loan for the building in 2018, is one of the creditors in the Chapter 7 bankruptcy case.

The lender on 1001 W. Loop S. has also tried to foreclose on that building. Choudhri said in court that he lost access to that building this month.

It was unclear as of publication time where Choudhri was being held. His name didn't appear on Harris County Jail rosters or a list of inmates in federal detention about two hours after being arrested by marshals.