Attorney General Racine files motion to freeze Casa Ruby's accounts amid investigation

D.C. attorney general seeks to freeze Ruby Corado's bank accounts

D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine has filed a motion to freeze all financial accounts associated with Casa Ruby, the D.C.-based LGBTQ nonprofit that has provided health, immigration, housing, and other assistance for D.C.'s most vulnerable for nearly a decade.

WASHINGTON - D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine has filed a motion to freeze all financial accounts associated with Casa Ruby, the D.C.-based LGBTQ nonprofit that has provided health, immigration, housing, and other assistance for D.C.'s most vulnerable for nearly a decade.

Last month, Casa Ruby stopped providing critical services to the community, and employees revealed to FOX 5 they haven't been paid since May.

Casa Ruby closes DC shelters, raises financial concerns

An investigation conducted by The Washington Post revealed that a D.C.-based LGBTQ nonprofit has stopped providing critical services in the District. The company's founder is now missing in action and employees haven't gotten paid.

According to an investigation by The Washington Post, the organization's founder and Executive Director Ruby Corado appears to have taken tens of thousands of dollars from the nonprofit's funds and fled the country.

Racine wants the courts to freeze Casa Ruby's accounts to prevent Corado from withdrawing any more money.

"Casa Ruby’s operations suggest clear patterns of gross mismanagement and poor oversight of its programs and finances. Instead of fulfilling its important mission of providing transitional housing and support to LGBTQ+ youth, Casa Ruby diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars in District grants and charitable donations from their intended purpose," Racine said in a statement. "Upon hearing of the suspicious circumstances surrounding its collapse, our office immediately began investigating and is using our broad authority over District nonprofits to safeguard the organization’s assets and hold its leadership accountable."

The Office of the Attorney General stated that D.C. government has given Casa Ruby more than $9.6 million over the years from both the mayor's office and D.C.'s Department of Human Services (DHS). But DHS decided to withdraw its over $800,000 grant late last year, leading Corado to set up a GoFundMe.

"I'm sad about it. I think that a lot of people here know Ruby, and know the organization, and especially know the organization when it was doing work that nobody else was doing," Mayor Muriel Bowser previously said. "So, I'm very sad about it, but I also know when we give hundreds of thousands and millions of dollars; vendors aren't getting paid, employees aren't getting paid — we've got a problem. So none of us can turn our back on it. We have to fix the problem."

According to Casa Ruby's 2020 federal tax filing, the organization had over $4 million in total revenue, and Corado took home a $260,000 salary. Court records also reveal that Casa Ruby is facing at least three separate disputes over unpaid rent.