The well-known founder of a D.C. charity that aimed to help LGBTQ youth, who was charged with fraud and money laundering earlier this year, is now set to plead guilty to a single wire fraud charge.
Prior to the filing of a new charge of wire fraud on May 31, Ruby Corado, 53, had faced charges of money laundering and defrauding two COVID-19 pandemic-era loan programs.
A plea agreement hearing on the new charge has been scheduled for July 17 in U.S. District Court in D.C., meaning she is likely to plead guilty.
Prosecutors said Corado, who founded the Casa Ruby nonprofit, diverted $150,000 of federal pandemic relief funds into her personal accounts and then, after financial irregularities in her nonprofit came to light, fled to El Salvador.
She later faced a lawsuit from the D.C. attorney general, who accused Corado of funneling more than $400,000 intended for the nonprofit’s work into personal bank accounts.
Corado was arrested and hit with the federal charges when she unexpectedly returned to Maryland, where she once had a house, earlier this year.
If convicted, prosecutors indicated they will seek an order requiring Corado to pay back the money involved.
She faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Casa Ruby was well known in the community for helping homeless LGBTQ youth, but closed down amid financial disarray in 2022.
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