The Ghost Firm: An Unlicensed Engineer Has Been Certifying Shelby County Homes for 22 Years
Home Ideas by JustMy | July 07, 2026
The Ghost Firm: An Unlicensed Engineer Has Been Certifying Shelby County Homes for 22 Years
Home Ideas by JustMy | July 07, 2026
Unlicensed David Al-Chockachi posed as engineer, certifying foundations for 22 years. When caught, county and state officials did nothing.
By JR Robinson, CEO/Co-Founder, JustMyMemphis
JustMyMemphis is investigating the scope of the AFA Engineering fraud. If you purchased a home from Regency, Magnolia, Creekside, John Worley, Astor Fine, Grant, or Renaissance in the last 22 years and have foundation concerns, contact us. We want to hear your story. Confidentiality protected.
The Firm That Doesn't Exist
In 1987, AF Al-Chockachi started AFA Engineering. For 17 years, he inspected foundations, provided engineering services, and signed off on construction work across Shelby County.
On April 6, 2004, AF died. His license expired that same day and was never renewed.
For the next 22 years, AFA Engineering kept operating. Shelby County kept accepting their certifications. Banks kept financing homes based on their letters.
Except: the firm no longer legally existed. The person running it was not licensed to do the work. And when discovered, he didn't shut down—he changed his name.
The Unlicensed Inspector
David Al-Chockachi, AF's son, took over AFA Engineering after his father's death.
David has never been a licensed engineer. There's no record of him holding an engineering degree anywhere.
Yet for 22 years, he introduced himself as an engineer. He conducted foundation inspections. He supervised soil testing. He certified work affecting the structural integrity of homes across Tennessee.
In late December 2021- seven months after the Pereiras moved in- sewage began backing up through every toilet in their home. After weeks of Regency stonewalling, the Pereiras hired a plumber who found an 18-foot "belly" in the sewer line running through their concrete slab.
When Regency sent someone to assess the damage, David Al-Chockachi showed up. On a front-door security camera, Regency's Todd Rotan introduces him: "This is David. He's one of my engineers." Moments later, Rotan points at David and tells Julie: "He's the one that inspected it"—referring to the failing foundation.
The entire exchange was recorded.
Julie investigated. She discovered David Al-Chockachi is not an engineer. Never was.
She filed a complaint with the Tennessee Board of Architects and Engineers.
The board confirmed: AFA Engineering's license expired April 6, 2004. David Al-Chockachi has never held an engineering license. The firm should not be operating.
The board opened an administrative case against David. It's still ongoing- with no timeline and no urgency.
But here's what happened next: The moment Julie posted about the fraud on Facebook (February 8, 2025), AFA Engineering wiped their entire website- same day. All services listed, employee names, builder clients—gone.
Then they pivoted. The same day, a new company called "AFA Consulting" was registered with the Tennessee Secretary of State.
By mid-2025, new foundation certification letters were being issued under the AFA Consulting name.
Shelby County Knew. And Did Nothing.
Here's what makes this systemic, not just an individual bad actor:
Shelby County Code Enforcement has accepted AFA Engineering's certifications since at least 2019, knowing since at least April and December 2025 that the firm has not held a valid license since 2004.
In December 2025, Julie sent formal notice to Shelby County officials- building department, commissioners, attorneys, mayor, fire marshal- documenting the fraudulent certifications.
Ron Betheda, the county's code official, had already told her: "Unless the state tells us to stop accepting them, we're not going to stop."
Rita Anderson, another county official, had even written a letter admitting Regency's concrete work didn't meet code.
But when Julie asked for written violations, the county "got really weird" and refused. They refused to document what they'd already admitted.
Despite being on written notice in December 2025, foundation form letters from "AFA Consulting" were still being accepted as recently as March 2026.
When Julie pressed the county attorney, Robert Rowling, he shut her down. He claimed he couldn't talk to her because she mentioned litigation (with Regency, not the county). Julie responded with a detailed email clarifying she was not suing the county- she wanted change, not litigation.
Rowling never replied.
The Licensed Engineer Who Rubber-Stamped
Linda Prather owns Foundation Engineering Management, licensed since the 1980s. She's a licensed professional engineer.
Her signature appears on thousands of foundation certifications in Shelby County.
The problem: Linda Prather cannot serve as the engineer in responsible charge for both Foundation Engineering Management and AFA Engineering. Nor can she simply "supervise" an unlicensed individual performing engineering services that require a Tennessee license, yet hundreds, maybe thousands of AFA Engineering certifications bear her signature and seal on foundations she didn’t inspect herself.
Julie's question: "If she was actually there doing the inspections, what the hell did she need David for? He's not an engineer."
Her concern: It appears as though David conducted the inspections (as an unlicensed person). He brought the paperwork to Linda. She stamped it. She got paid.
The state investigated. Linda told them she "supervised" David Al-Chockachi. The State’s legal report indicates Ms. Prather maintained she was "physically on site."
These contradict each other. You can't supervise an unlicensed engineer you're not physically with.
The state issued Linda a warning letter. No fine. No investigation. No license consequences.
Julie submitted to the board of contractors 32+ foundation form letters as evidence of what she calls fraud. The state reviewed them and did nothing.
"They just gave Linda a warning," Julie said. "I don't believe she was there at those inspections."
Criminal Impersonation
Under Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-16-302, impersonating a licensed professional is a crime.
David Al-Chockachi has been impersonating a licensed engineer for 22 years. He did this while conducting inspections, providing engineering services, and certifying structural work.
"He criminally impersonated an engineer on hundreds, if not thousands of homes," Julie said. "His company name is on all these foundation form letters."
If his certifications are invalid, then homes built on his inspections may have structural issues that were never properly inspected. They may not have valid certificates of occupancy. Banks may have mortgaged homes fraudulently- especially VA loans.
No law enforcement referral has been made.
What's At Stake: The Pereira Foundation
Two independent engineers inspected the Pereiras' foundation in 2025. Here's what they found:
The Soil:
- Home sits on Henry Silt Loam (high water content, poor drainage)
- The fill beneath the home doesn't meet compaction standards
- Soil is too soft to support house weight
The Footings:
- Code requires footings 13 inches deep into native soil
- The Pereiras' deepest footing is 13 inches- but needs to go 87 inches into proper soil
- They're 74 inches short on their deepest footing
- Other footings are only 7 inches deep
- Missing continuous perimeter footings (large enough to slide under the house)
The Damage:
- Concrete perpetually wet
- Can't install flooring without expensive waterproofing
The Bill: $260,000 just for helical piers to stabilize the foundation. That doesn't include water damage, flooring, plumbing, relocation during pier placement, or ongoing structural movement.
Multiply that across hundreds of homes certified by David Al-Chockachi, and you're looking at millions in hidden structural damage across Shelby County.
What the State Found (But Didn't Act On)
In February 2025, Julie filed a complaint with the Tennessee Board of Architects and Engineers.
They confirmed:
- AFA Engineering's license expired April 6, 2004
- David Al-Chockachi is not a licensed engineer
- The firm has been operating illegally for 22 years
- Certifications are across Shelby County
The Board of Contractors also investigated and acknowledged in their legal report: "The unlicensed Engineering firm (who was responsible for pouring the concrete foundation for the Complainant's property) did not have an active license."
They also noted: "The Engineer who poured the foundation used a deceased family member's credentials and was not licensed."
What happened next? Warning letters. No fines. No emergency orders. No license revocations. No criminal referrals.
David Al-Chockachi's administrative case is still "in process." No timeline. Meanwhile, homes continue closing based on fraudulent certifications.
Seven Builders. Potentially Hundreds of Homes.
If David Al-Chockachi was inspecting for all seven builders (Regency, Magnolia, Creekside, John Worley, Astor Fine, Grant, Renaissance), the number of affected homes could be in the hundreds—possibly over a thousand.
Shelby County has no database of foundation certifications. There's no way to know without manually reviewing every permit file.
What's at risk:
- Your foundation was certified by an unlicensed person. David Al-Chockachi has never been licensed. No credentials. No training.
- Your lender relied on fraudulent documents. VA loans, conventional mortgages, FHA loans—all based on letters signed by someone with no authority to sign them.
- The county knew and did nothing. Despite written notice in December 2025, Shelby County continued accepting fraudulent certifications through March 2026.
- The statute of limitations is ticking. Four-year window from purchase. But fraudulent concealment (which this is) can extend that timeline. Talk to an attorney.
- The person who inspected your home is still out there. David Al-Chockachi is still involved in construction work. The state's case has no timeline.
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