A candy-colored three-story home on 36th Avenue in Astoria has drawn attention for its design—and for the history that sits behind its façade. Marketed as 'the most colorful house in Queens,' the property features pale yellow siding, scarlet trim and metallic vermilion floral motifs curling across the front gate. It went on the market in July with a $3 million asking price, promoted by the listing as a Custom-Designed Floral Fantasy and as Château Couleur, the castle of color that stands out amid the block's brick Tudors.
But federal prosecutors say a darker story accompanies the exterior. Rashidun Bokhari, 59, the husband of Jasmin Bokhari who owns the home, pleaded guilty in 2023 to embezzling more than $1 million from fellow Bangladeshi-Americans in a wire-fraud scheme. The New York Times described the case as exploiting community ties to solicit investments in real estate deals that never materialized. The Bokharis have long been known for their flashy lifestyle—luxury cars, designer handbags and a growing real estate portfolio that mystified neighbors.
One scheme involved a prospective Long Island City auction property pitched in 2015, with Bokhari proposing that he and a partner split a $200,000 down payment on a $4 million deal. Ansari says he gave Bokhari close to $1 million, but the promised properties never materialized. When delays surfaced, civil papers were filed in Queens Supreme Court in 2021, followed by a federal indictment in 2022. Bokhari pleaded guilty in 2023 and was sentenced in June 2024 to more than three years in prison and restitution of about $1.5 million.
Two other victims — Nazia Jamil and her mother Aqsa Shams — gave Bokhari $191,000 after he promised to help them buy a modest two-family home in Jamaica, Queens. They later told The Times they hoped for a place to live together and described the trust built within their families. Prosecutors say the funds were used for personal expenses, mortgages and renovations on the Astoria property.
Public records show the Bokharis shuffled properties among Jasmin Bokhari, her sister-in-law Jubayda Aktar, and a company called Tanny Fashion, a practice prosecutors described as flooding public records to obscure ownership. The government has placed liens totaling about $1.49 million on the Astoria and Jamaica properties to secure restitution. Jasmin Bokhari remains the deeded owner of the Astoria home and has not been charged criminally, leaving her to navigate the sale and any potential restitution.
Earlier this fall, the Astoria home’s price was reduced to $2.5 million, and the liens complicate a sale that might otherwise reimburse victims. If the properties are sold at current prices, observers say as much as roughly $5 million could pass to the couple, with a portion directed toward restitution depending on how liens are enforced.
Community voices describe the case as a stark reminder that trust within tight-knit immigrant networks can be exploited. Nine additional Bangladeshi New Yorkers told The Times they were defrauded in similar schemes, underscoring that the harm may extend beyond the named victims. Bokhari remains in federal custody, with a projected release in 2028. Jasmin Bokhari continues to hold the deed to the Astoria home, and the overall case illustrates how liens and restitution processes shape the fate of property tied to a crime.
The story surrounding Château Couleur is a real estate saga and a cautionary tale about trust, community networks and the legal mechanisms designed to recover losses. The Astoria house, once celebrated for its color, sits at the center of a broader, ongoing effort to balance aesthetic spectacle with accountability in a complex urban market.