Probed bail agent can resume work

Search warrant fails to find anything amiss after complaints from bond competitors

A bail agent whose Houston business was searched by federal and local law enforcement can return to bonding out defendants under one of her insurers as that company waits on results of a criminal investigation.

The agent in question, Sheba Muharib, was unable to write bonds under United States Fire Insurance Company for nearly a month after the company requested a “cease and desist” within days of authorities swarming 1620 Austin — where Muharib operates bail licenses Aable Bail Bonds and Aable Bail Bonds Texas — and leaving with computers and boxes of records.

Insurance officials notified the Harris County Sheriff ’s Office on June 29 of the reinstated bail license, noting that their internal review found nothing amiss and that Muharib has not been charged with a crime.

“We feel that it is only fair for this company to conduct business as usual,” Michael Padilla, vice president of United States Fire Insurance, said in the letter.

The search warrant — executed June 1 — dominated a portion of the Harris County Bail Bond Board meeting Wednesday. The cover sheet for the warrant, which the Chronicle obtained through a records request, revealed few details except that U.S. Magistrate Judge Sam S. Sheldon authorized it the day prior.

Muharib’s other license, with Financial Casualty & Surety, continues to be reviewed.

Ken Good, a lawyer for the firm, said their own audit into Muharib’s second license continues but that so far, all the records appear to be in compliance. It remains uncertain whether the warrant was aimed at Muharib, he said.

“Her attorneys were told of search warrant and that she was not a target,” Good said, noting that was said in June and that the federal “investigation is on

going.”

Muharib's license under Financial Casualty & Surety faced scrutiny in April during a renewal application over allegations of "deceptive trade practices" that a fellow bail bondsman aired against her and relatives. During an April meeting, the agent said she uses payment plans and that she had posted bail in the past — for people she knows — without a premium.

Debate over bail fees stemmed from a Houston Chronicle investigation in 2021 that found that bail bondsmen — who act as intermediaries between the defendant and the court — have for years offered defendants discounted rates. A review of court records found that bail agents have been increasingly accepting fees lower than the customary 10 percent fee on more violent crimes amid diminishing profits.

The bail bond board now requires bail bondsmen to access 10 percent premiums or higher from defendants charged with violent offenses.