California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO Ian Choudri resigned effective immediately on Oct. 28, citing personal and family reasons, KCRA reported. Department of Finance director Joe Stephenshaw is serving as interim CEO.
The exit came weeks after the board limited Choudri's spending power over questionable consultant travel. Inspector General Ben Belnap found nearly $600,000 in wasteful or unallowable travel expenses, including luxury rideshares and trips to gyms and nightclubs. The authority spent more than $250 million in two years on four consulting firms: KPMG, Nossaman LLP, Systra-Typsa and AECOM-Fluor.
CBS News reported that hours before Choudri resigned, the board approved a trainset contract for the same type of trains from the same maker he had chosen not to buy two years earlier. The order was cut from six trains to three, and without $4 billion in withdrawn federal funding, California taxpayers will cover the cost.The board chair has called for an independent inspector general investigation. The inspector general has warned that the project could run out of money by the end of 2027 without new financing.