The Justice Department is once again denying that Attorney General Pam Bondi had any influence in dropping a case involving one of her brother Brad Bondi’s clients, a property developer who was facing serious fraud charges.
ABC News reported that Missouri federal prosecutors agreed this week to dismiss the indictment against developer Sid Chakraverty voluntarily. He was represented by Brad Bondi, who co-chairs the Investigations and White Collar Defense practice at the law firm Paul Hastings.
Chakraverty had been accused by Biden administration prosecutors in 2024 of lying about hiring women- and minority-owned subcontractors to secure a tax break for a housing project. But on Wednesday, Thomas Albus, the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, filed court papers saying the case was being dropped after defendants agreed to pay back the taxes.
He added that it was “prudent for the government to end this criminal prosecution” since the Justice Department had adopted a directive not to pursue cases tied to programs that use race- or sex-based criteria, like the disadvantaged business enterprise initiative.
A DOJ spokesperson told ABC News the decision “was made through proper channels and the Attorney General had no role in it.”
This is the second time in less than a month that Brad Bondi has scored a big win for one of his clients. Just weeks earlier, prosecutors backed off pursuing former Florida House Rep. Carolina Amesty, who had been facing up to 20 years in prison on charges tied to COVID-19 relief funds.
A spokesperson for Chakraverty praised Brad’s legal team for their role in ending the case. Bondi officially joined in July 2025, according to court records, though the spokesperson claimed he had been involved since before the 2024 election. That same spokesperson, James McCarthy, also represents Chakraverty’s alleged co-conspirator, Victor Alston.
“[Sid and Vic] credit the wisdom and integrity of their counsel, especially Brad Bondi, Renato Mariotti, and Jeff Jensen, who righteously and compellingly made clear that this case should never have been brought and that it could not withstand the scrutiny of either a jury of St. Louisans or the jurists of the federal courts,” McCarthy said in a statement to ABC News. He added that just two days after the defense team filed its motion to dismiss, the City of St. Louis suspended the policy that formed “the entire basis of the unjust charges.”
The dropped charges come as Brad Bondi continues to make headlines of his own. In June, he lost badly in his campaign to become president of the Washington D.C. Bar, with about 90 percent of its 38,000 members voting for his opponent, Diane Seltzer.
For Pam Bondi, the DOJ’s insistence that she has no role in her brother’s cases may not stop speculation, especially as prosecutors appear to keep retreating from charges that could have carried serious prison time for Brad’s high-profile clients.
More News:
- Quick 20 Minute Dinner Recipes That Actually Taste Good
- Whoopi Goldberg Walks Off The View Table, Saying Producers ‘Threw That Admiral Right Under the Bus’
- Instagram CEO orders staff back five days a week in push for a ‘Winning Culture’
- Easy DIY Home Improvement Projects for Beginners
- ‘We’re Paying for Our Own Vote’ Ranchers Blame Trump Decisions for the Bankruptcies Hitting Their Communities