Ruby Jade Corado, the founder of Casa Ruby, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit that served the LGBTQ+ community, was sentenced to 33 months in prison for diverting at least $150,000 in federal Covid-relief funds to offshore accounts for personal use. The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Corado, also known as Vladimir Orlando Artiga Corado, pleaded guilty to wire fraud on July 17, 2024. In addition to the prison sentence handed down by U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, Corado was ordered to serve two years of supervised release and pay $956,215 in restitution to the Small Business Administration.
“Corado received more than $1.3 million from the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program for the non-profit Casa Ruby,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “Instead of using the funds as promised, Corado stole over $950,000, transferred at least $150,000 to bank accounts in El Salvador, and hid it from the IRS.”
Court documents show that after financial irregularities surfaced at Casa Ruby in 2022, Corado sold her home in Prince Georges County, Maryland and fled to El Salvador. She was arrested by FBI agents on March 5, 2024 at a hotel in Laurel, Maryland upon returning unexpectedly to the United States.
Casa Ruby had claimed to provide transitional housing and other services for homeless LGBTQ+ youth and immigrants in Washington D.C., including case management and mental health support for survivors of violence. According to its website before closing operations in July 2022 due to financial troubles and evictions for unpaid rent, Casa Ruby employed over 50 people and reported providing more than 30,000 social services annually to over 6,000 individuals.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI Washington Field Office and the D.C. Office of Inspector General. The prosecution team included Assistant U.S. Attorney John Borchert along with former U.S. Attorneys Madhu Chugh and Kathryn Rakoczy.
“Joining in the announcement of the sentencing were FBI Assistant Director in Charge Darren B. Cox of the Washington Field Office and District of Columbia Inspector General Daniel W. Lucas.”
