AG seeks $20,000 fine for landlord

Leases fail to notify tenants of their rights, Griffin says

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin is seeking to enforce a $20,000 civil penalty against a Central Arkansas landlord.

Imran Bohra and his firm, Entropy Systems, Inc., failed to include an addendum on all leases notifying tenants of their right to file a complaint with the attorney general’s office as required by a September 2022 consent judgment, Griffin’s office claims.

At the time the consent judgment was entered, the $20,000 penalty was suspended upon the condition that the defendants comply with the terms, according to Griffin’s petition to enforce it, which was filed Tuesday in Pulaski County Circuit Court.

“The defendants have blatantly disregarded their obligations and now must be held accountable,” Griffin said in a statement issued Friday. “Arkansas consumers deserve to be treated fairly, and I will continue to hold accountable those who engage in deceptive tactics while doing business.”

Out of 44 post-consent judgment leases that the defendants provided to the attorney general’s office, none included the addendum, Griffin’s office stated in the filing.

“In the interest of efficiency and judicial economy, the State provided notice of Defendants’ failure to abide by the Consent Judgment on November 21, 2023, and demanded payment of the suspended civil penalty,” the filing said.

As of when the petition was filed, legal counsel for the defendants had acknowledged receipt of the notice and demand letter but had “yet to comply with the State’s demand or communicate whether they intend to include” the addendum, the filing said.

In addition to the $20,000 penalty, Griffin’s office has

asked for an order blocking Bohra and his company from leasing any properties until the addendum is added to all leases.

In 2019, the office of then-Attorney General Leslie Rutledge sued Bohra and Entropy Systems, claiming they violated the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by leasing properties in Little Rock and North Little Rock despite existing code violations.

The lawsuit followed an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette investigation published seven months earlier.

Bohra is the chief executive officer and registered agent of Entropy, the 2019 complaint said. The Democrat-Gazette reported in 2019 that Bohra had approximately 150 properties in Pulaski County that he rented out under his name and that of his company.

Code enforcement officers had cited his properties at least 170 times since 2016, the newspaper reported.

The 2022 consent judgment noted, “Defendants maintain that they have not engaged in business practices that would constitute violations of the [act].”

Edward Adcock, an attorney for the defendants, did not immediately return a request for comment via email on Friday afternoon.