Ian Choudri, the CEO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, speaks about the completion of a railhead facility near Shafter, Calif., on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. Choudri was arrested later that night at his Folsom home on suspicion of domestic battery, according to police logs.
California High-Speed Rail Authority
High-Speed Rail Authority CEO Ian Choudri went on leave Tuesday, one day after it was reported that police arrested him and his fiancée earlier this month.
Rail authorities confirmed Monday that they were investigating Choudri after Folsom police arrested him and Lyudmyla Starostyuk after someone called 911 and accused Starostyuk of pulling Choudri’s daughter’s hair and locking her out of their home.
The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office declined to press charges after police arrested Choudri and Starostyuk on suspicion of misdemeanor battery of a spouse.
Allen Sawyer, Choudri and Starostyuk’s attorney, said neither of them was asked to appear in court and that authorities considered the matter “over.”
Still, Choudri voluntarily agreed to go on leave from the rail authority as of Tuesday, while the rail authority’s parent agency, the California State Transportation Agency, investigates, according to a memo obtained by The Sacramento Bee.
“During this temporary period, Chief of Staff Mark Tollefson will assume responsibility for day-to-day decision-making of the Authority,” High-Speed Rail Authority board chair Tom Richards wrote to rail staffers.
“Our work continues without interruption, and our priorities remain unchanged. Thank you for your continued professionalism, focus, and dedication to delivering this important project for the people California.”
A bullet train agency spokesperson said Choudri was unaware of “any evidence of wrongdoing,” and that his leave was of his own volition.
“We are taking this matter seriously, consistent with our longstanding commitment to public responsibility, transparency, and accountability,” the authority said in an email. “The California High-Speed Rail Authority’s work continues without interruption, and our priorities remain unchanged.”
Consulting ties to rail authority
Starostyuk recently joined KPMG, a financial services firm that is advising the High-Speed Rail Authority, as an advisory manager, according to her LinkedIn. She previously served as a business professor at a Denver university.
According to a contracts and expenditures report from last month, KPMG’s $24 million contract with the bullet train is for financial advisory services.
It was not immediately clear whether Starostyuk worked on or was connected to that contract. A rail authority spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about whether her role posed a potential conflict of interest under agency policy.
Starostyuk’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This story was originally published February 17, 2026 at 7:24 PM.
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Lia Russell covers California’s governor for The Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Bureau. Originally from San Francisco, Lia previously worked for The Baltimore Sun and the Bangor Daily News in Maine.