Fraud alleged in murder case bail records
Accusations of fraud have surfaced in bail records linked to a man accused of killing his wife and the owner of a Houston bonding company whose office was searched earlier this year by local and federal law enforcement.
Bail bondsman Sheba Muharib has alleged that two unidentified co-signers whom defendant Curtis Holliday used in November 2021 to secure his release from the Harris County Jail were paid, according to recent court records. Holliday had been ordered held on a combined bail of $400,000 on two felony charges: murder and assault with continuous family violence.
He paid a 10 percent premium to Muharib's Aable Bail Bonds to get out of jail, according to an affidavit of surety to surrender principal document.
“We believe the defendant has provided fraudulent information in order to receive a bond,” Muharib wrote. “It has come to the attention of our insurance company that 2 of the defendant's cosigners were paid in order to aid the bonding process. We were unaware of these circumstances.”
The purpose of the affidavit is for the bondsman to cut ties with a defendant's bond — typically after a new arrest. In filing the form, bail agents ask that the defendant be taken into custody and to stop being responsible for the person in the eyes of the court. The document, however, does not say what fraudulent information Holliday provided or who paid the cosigners in what amount. The defendant's surety
“It would be odd to reward a bond reduction because we’re here on allegations of fraud.”
Michael Butera, Harris County District Attorney’s Office
bond at question is linked to Financial Casualty & Surety, Inc.
One of Holliday’s attorneys, Dick DeGuerin, said Holliday had difficulty making bond initially and that someone in the jail referred him to an employee within Aable Bail Bonds. The accusation of fraud, however, is false, the attorneys said, adding that they would continue preparing for his murder trial in September.
The claim comes within months of investigators using a federal search warrant on June 1 to enter her 1620 Austin office in downtown Houston and seize computers and boxes of records, prompting questions among members of the Harris County Bail Bond Board about the future of her license. She remains licensed to write bonds in Harris County and has not been charged with a crime.
Ken Good, a lawyer for Financial Casualty & Surety, citing Muharib’s attorneys, has said that she was not the target of the search warrant.
An insurance company behind Muharib’s second license, United States Fire Insurance Company, briefly rescinded her ability to write bonds following the search warrant. Following a review of her documents, she was allowed to continue writing bonds for that license. Financial Casualty & Surety, meanwhile, continued their own inspection.
Judge Kelli Johnson in the 178th District Court declined earlier this month to make a decision on the affidavit, saying that it lacked “sufficient facts” to grant their request. She ordered a show cause hearing — allowing Holliday’s defense and the insurance company to show evidence related to the fraud allegation. Muharib was summoned to the court Friday with a subpoena and she waited in a witness room for the scheduled hearing to begin. She declined to comment on the accusation outlined in the affidavit or the search warrant.
Another of Holliday’s defense attorneys, Mark White, said he had sought out a former employee of Aable Bail Bond as a witness, but she did not appear and was likely dodging service, he told the judge. The hearing did not go forward because White agreed to replace Aable Bail Bonds with another bonding company willing to front his client’s risk. The agreement meant that the affidavit of surety with the allegation would be withdrawn and the premium returned to the defendant.
White also asked the judge to reduce Holliday’s bond.
Despite the affidavit’s withdrawal, prosecutor Lindsay Bondurant said that the Harris County District Attorney’s Office would be investigating the fraud claim and oppose any attempt to lower his bond.
Her colleague in the bond forfeiture division, Michael Butera, agreed while addressing the judge.
“It would be odd to reward a bond reduction because we’re here on allegations of fraud,” said Butera, a representative on the Harris County Bail Bond Board.
In the hours after the hearing, a text message was sent to defendants on bond with Muharib’s business saying that several employees, including the missing witness, were no longer employed, according to a copy of the text message provided to the Chronicle.
Good said Financial Casualty & Surety found signs of suspected fraud during a review of large bond amounts prior to the June 1 search warrant.
The review raised questions about “whether the indemintors (co-signers) were real” and the company asked that Muharib surrender the bonds. The affidavit of surety to surrender principal in Holliday’s case was not filed until Aug. 16.
“We have been requesting that the bonds be surrendered for a long time — she was given a deadline,” Good said.
Muharib’s license through Financial Casualty & Surety faced questioning in April during a renewal application over allegations of “deceptive trade practices” that a fellow bail bondsman aired against her and relatives during a Commissioners Court hearing on lower than 10 percent premium fees.
Bondsman Mario Garza, also a member of the Bail Bond Board, identified Muharib and her brothers as being among six bail companies “who are doing things that they shouldn’t be doing.”
The Harris County Sheriff ’s Office is no longer accepting bonds on the online bonds license held by her brother, Anthony Muharib, Sgt. Sisto DeLeon, a representative on the Bail Bond Board, said.
The bail license — through U.S. Fire Insurance Company — is expected to be on a future Bail Bond Board meeting, he added. The brother could not be reached for comment.