Ruby Corado, a well-known LGBTQ+ advocate and founder of Casa Ruby, Inc., was hauled into court yesterday to face serious allegations. Accused of fraud and money laundering, the 53-year-old made her first appearance before U.S. District Court. Officials claim she siphoned at least $150,000 of the nonprofit's $1.3 million emergency relief funds, aiming to spend the taxpayer-backed dollars for personal indulgences through off-shore bank accounts.
According to a Justice Department release, Corado has been slapped with a litany of charges, including bank and wire fraud, in addition to cleansing monetary instruments and failing to promptly file a report of a foreign bank account. The founder allegedly diverted the hefty sum to El Salvador, covering up the tracks from IRS. She unexpectedly returned to the States, only to swiftly get nabbed by the feds on March 5 in a Maryland hotel.
The saga of financial discrepancies at Casa Ruby stretches back to 2022. The organization, once a beacon of hope for the queer community in Washington D.C., had to tumultuously cease operations by July. Allegations of shuttering transitional housing, stiffing employee wages, and evading rent which led to multiple evictions tarnished its legacy. Now, Corado's legal woes deepen as she's held pending a detention hearing pegged for Friday.
The penalties upon conviction are severe: Bank fraud could lock one away for as many as 30 years, wire fraud up to 20, and the stakes for money laundering also skyrocket to 20 years max. As per Justice Department guidelines, final sentences in the hands of the court will balance the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines alongside other statutory considerations. The FBI's Washington Field Office, with a hand from the D.C. Office of Inspector General, is spearheading the investigation, while Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Borchert, Madhu Chugh, and Kathryn Rakoczy are leading the courtroom charge.
