Casa Ruby founder pleads guilty to stealing $150K in COVID-relief funds
WASHINGTON - The founder of Casa Ruby, a D.C.-based non-profit that provided services to the LGBTQ+ community, pleaded guilty Wednesday to stealing at least $150,000 in emergency COVID-relief funds.
Ruby Corado, 53, was hit with multiple charges in March including bank fraud, failure to report a foreign bank account, and money laundering.
According to court documents, Corado, on behalf of Casa Ruby, received more than $1.3 million from the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. But instead of using the funds as she indicated, Corado diverted at least $150,000 of the money to private off-shore bank accounts for her personal use.
The bank accounts were in El Salvador. Corado allegedly hid them from the IRS.
READ MORE: LGBTQ community raises funds for Casa Ruby employees
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 19: Ruby Corado (seated) with LGBT clients who frequent, have been or are clients of Casa Ruby, an outreach center for LGBT in Washington, DC on July 19, 2016. Casa Rubys founder, Ruby Corado started the center 12 years ago. Whe
After financial irregularities in 2022, Corado sold her home in Prince Georges County and fled to El Salvador. FBI agents arrested Corado on March 5, 2024, at a hotel in Laurel, Maryland, after she unexpectedly returned to the United States.
Casa Ruby claimed to provide a number of LGBTQ+ services to the community, from housing for youth and homeless, to mental health support, to putting LGBTQ+ community members in touch with lawyers.
Their website stated that that they employed over 50 people and provided more than 30,000 social and human services to more than 6,000 people each year.
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Casa Ruby effectively ceased operations in July 2022 after they allegedly failed to pay employees. They also faced eviction from multiple properties for failure to pay rent.
In court Wednesday, Corado pleaded guilty to a one-count information charging her with wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of up to 30 years in prison.
Sentencing is scheduled for January 10, 2025.