D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb has filed suit against Maryland nonprofit founder Allyson Abrams, alleging she misappropriated more than $125,000 in city grant funds meant to help residents struggling with addiction and then defaulted on a $110,000 settlement she owed the District. The lawsuit targets Abrams personally along with the two organizations she founded, Empowerment Justice Center and Empowerment Liberation Cathedral.
According to the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, the District paid the two organizations more than $475,000 between 2019 and 2025 to fund outreach, counseling, and addiction-treatment services. Investigators allege Abrams instead transferred nonprofit money to companies tied to her real estate business, withdrew cash for herself, and moved funds to her spouse, according to WJLA. The Attorney General's office also accused Abrams of submitting falsified invoices and fake checks to seek reimbursements from the District, the station reports.
A Settlement Abrams Allegedly Never Honored
Abrams, Empowerment Justice Center, and Empowerment Liberation Cathedral each reached a settlement with the Attorney General's office in December 2025. Under that agreement, Abrams agreed to repay $110,000 over 11 months, give up control of the nonprofits' funds, and notify the Attorney General's office before dissolving Empowerment Justice Center, per the station's report. Schwalb's office says Abrams has not made a single payment and missed eight installments outright.
The lawsuit further alleges Abrams dissolved Empowerment Justice Center without notifying the Attorney General's office as required under the settlement. The Attorney General's office said neither nonprofit provided documentation showing their bank accounts were closed or that remaining funds were moved into accounts inaccessible to Abrams and her spouse. The District is now seeking to enforce the settlement in full, aiming to collect the entire $110,000 plus interest along with attorneys' fees and other costs tied to the lawsuit.
Why D.C. Law Requires Notice Before Dissolution
Under the D.C. Nonprofit Corporation Act of 2010, charitable corporations operating in the District must notify the Attorney General before dissolving and remain subject to state enforcement if their officers fail to uphold fiduciary duties over public funds, according to Venable LLP. That statute is the legal backbone of Schwalb's case, since the lawsuit hinges on Abrams allegedly winding down Empowerment Justice Center without ever alerting his office.
“Nonprofit leaders cannot treat their organizations like personal slush funds,” Schwalb said, according to WJLA. He added that Abrams misused government grant money and undermined efforts to support vulnerable community members. Public tax filings compiled by ProPublica show Empowerment Justice Center Corporation, a 501(c)(3) registered in Bowie, Maryland since August 2017, reported paying Abrams $66,528 in compensation on its most recent Form 990-EZ.
A Long Public Ministry Before the Legal Trouble
Abrams built a national profile in ministry circles before founding her D.C.-area organizations. She resigned in 2013 as pastor of Zion Progress Baptist Church in Detroit after publicly revealing her marriage to fellow female bishop Diana Williams, according to the Washington Blade. She went on to found Empowerment Liberation Cathedral in May 2014 as an LGBTQ-affirming congregation in Maryland, which was admitted as a full-standing United Church of Christ member during a D.C. ceremony in February 2024. While incorporated in Maryland, both Empowerment Justice Center and Empowerment Liberation Cathedral maintained a physical office on 15th Street N.W. to manage local operations and grant-funded community services, the Blade reported.
The organizations were not strangers to D.C.'s social services network before the current allegations surfaced. In December 2018, Abrams and Empowerment Liberation Cathedral partnered with transgender activist Ruby Corado and Casa Ruby on LGBTQ youth outreach and housing efforts in Southeast D.C., according to DCist.
Financial Strain Predates the AG's Lawsuit
The current lawsuit is not Abrams' first brush with financial litigation. In July 2024, a federal judge in Maryland ruled against Empowerment Justice Center in a civil breach-of-contract case, Timilon Corp. v. Empowerment Justice Center Corp., which led to garnishment filings against Wells Fargo Bank accounts tied to Abrams and Williams in October 2025, according to PacerMonitor.
The case fits a pattern of enforcement Schwalb's office has pursued against local nonprofit leaders accused of misusing city grants. In a case Hoodline covered in April, D.C. Superior Court entered a default judgment against anti-violence nonprofit Women in H.E.E.L.S. and its founder, Ikeia Hardy, ordering her to return more than $60,000 in diverted city grant funds and permanently banning her from serving as a D.C. nonprofit officer. Schwalb has repeatedly argued that public funds designated for vulnerable communities must be safeguarded and cannot be treated as personal accounts.
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