By: Stacy M. Brown | The Washington Informer

The District of Columbia filed a sweeping civil racketeering lawsuit Thursday seeking to dismantle what Attorney General Brian Schwalb described as a decade-long real estate fraud enterprise that left hundreds of tenants living in hazardous conditions while siphoning tens of millions of dollars from lenders and city housing programs.

“Today, we’re dismantling the Razjooyan slumlord empire,” Schwalb said in announcing the lawsuit against Ali “Sam” Razjooyan, his brother Eimon “Ray” Razjooyan, and their mother Houri Razjooyan. “D.C. has a serious housing affordability problem, and slumlords like the Razjooyans make things worse by decreasing the available housing supply and forcing tenants to live in horrific conditions.”

The 112-page complaint filed in D.C. Superior Court accuses the family of operating a criminal enterprise in violation of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, the District’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act, and the District’s False Claims Act. It alleges the defendants built a network of more than 40 single-asset limited liability companies controlling over 70 apartment buildings and more than 600 rental units across the city, primarily in Wards 7 and 8.

Neither Ali, Ray, nor Houri Razjooyan could immediately be reached for comment. Court filings didn’t list an attorney.

According to the complaint, the enterprise acquired distressed, rent-controlled properties and secured loans far exceeding the purchase prices by promising lenders that the buildings would undergo major renovations and be leased at higher rents to tenants receiving government housing subsidies. Instead, prosecutors allege, the promised capital improvements never materialized, and loan proceeds were diverted to purchase additional properties, pay off prior debts, and enrich the defendants.

The District alleges that from 2015 to the present the enterprise obtained more than $16 million in housing subsidy payments while falsely certifying that units complied with federal Housing Quality Standards and D.C. Housing Authority requirements. Inspectors documented more than 4,000 housing code violations across enterprise properties, including missing smoke alarms, unsafe electrical wiring, severe mold, rodent and insect infestations, flooding, trash accumulation, and gas leaks.

One property at 4559 Benning Road SE was evacuated in August 2025 after inspectors found severe electrical hazards and an active gas leak. The complaint states that tenants were displaced to emergency housing at significant cost to the District after the building was declared uninhabitable.

“Working with many residents from Razjooyan-affiliated properties around the District, Legal Aid has seen firsthand how this sprawling web of businesses has been built at the expense of tenants’ safety, health, and most basic rights,” said Megan Browder, legal director for systemic advocacy and law reform at Legal Aid DC. “Residents deserve better.”

The lawsuit contends the defendants repeatedly refinanced properties using falsified rent rolls and inflated occupancy figures. In one instance cited in the complaint, the enterprise allegedly represented a building as fully occupied and generating $90,000 per month in rent when bank records showed significantly lower housing subsidy payments. Prosecutors further allege the use of forged bank statements and straw purchasers to secure additional multimillion-dollar loans.

The complaint describes tenants living without heat during winter months, enduring chronic water leaks and elevated mold levels, and facing emergency evacuations because of structural instability or fire hazards. At some properties, inspectors deemed buildings unfit for human occupancy.

“For years, my neighbors and I have been living with issues no one should have to deal with in their homes,” said Earnest Wilkerson, president of the Minnesota Commons Tenant Association. “My neighbors and I are grateful that the Office of the Attorney General is filing this lawsuit to put a stop to all of this.”

District of Columbia Department of Buildings Director Brian J. Hanlon said that the lawsuit aligns with the office’s purpose of advocating for D.C. residents.“The DC Department of Buildings’ core mission is to make sure that District tenants have safe, habitable housing — and that means holding landlords accountable who fail to meet their legal obligations,” Hanlon said.

Schwalb said the city would no longer pursue a building-by-building approach.

“Instead of addressing each building individually, we’re attacking the very foundation of their illegal operation,” he said. “As the District’s independent attorney general, I am committed to using the law to put an end to such fraud and exploitation and to protect affordable housing in the District.”