A DC federal judge, prosecutors, and Corado’s attorney say it is likely that Corado will be deported to her home country of El Salvador after serving her sentence.
WASHINGTON — LGBTQ+ activist Ruby Corado received a 33-month sentence in DC federal court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to wire fraud in 2024.
“Your deportation is likely if not certain, ” District Judge Trevor McFadden told Corado, who will also have to spend two years under supervised release only if she is not deported to her home country of El Salvador.
Corado was also ordered to pay $956,215 in restitution to the Small Business Administration.
In court documents filed ahead of her sentencing, Corado admitted that in 2020 she illegally wired at least $200,000 in federal COVID funds to her personal account in El Salvador.
The nearly $1 million in federal funds that Corado received were intended to keep her DC-based LGBTQ+ nonprofit Casa Ruby afloat during the pandemic.
Corado was the founder of the organization that provided transitional housing and other resources for LGBTQ+ youth. It operated strictly on public donations and grants from the D.C. government.
“I am sorry that my mistake impacted my work,” Corado told District Judge Trevor McFadden ahead of her sentencing. She told the federal judge she was in over her head and insisted that the money was intended to open a shelter for LGBTQ+ individuals in her home country of El Salvador.
“The main goal was to make sure that people did not migrate and come to the United States,” Corado told WUSA9’s Lorenzo Hall in an exclusive sit-down interview in October.
“I am very dubious of that,” McFadden told Corado. He pointed at the fact that Corado’s team had never provided evidence of any attempts to apply for a nonprofit in El Salvador or documentation that she had secured a building for the shelter. “You betrayed this country,” McFadden continued, arguing that Corado had stolen funds when the unhoused in the U.S. were most at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“You spotted an opportunity to defraud the American people,” McFadden said.
Corado has denied that the funds were used for personal use.
Corado was arrested on March 6, 2024, at a hotel in Laurel, Md, following an FBI investigation. Her defense team previously argued that incarceration would put her at risk because she is a transgender woman. “It carries with it a foreseeable risk of extraordinary harm because of her transgender status and the current retreat from federal protections designed to keep LGBTQ+ inmates safe,” the court filings state.
McFadden denied Corado’s request to serve her time in a local jail or on house arrest, arguing that she would not receive different treatment due to her gender identity.
Outside of court, Corado’s friend of more than 20 years, Danielle Dufoe, told reporters she was concerned for the activist’s well-being. “It’s a sad day for those of us who love Ruby Corado, and it’s a sad day for those who won’t be able to access the services that she once provided,” Dufoe said.
Despite her criminal sentencing, Corado’s legal battles could continue. In 2022, DC’s Office of the Attorney General filed a civil lawsuit following allegations that Casa Ruby employees had gone unpaid.
The OAG secured a judgment that Corado is personally and legally responsible for failing to pay employees.
However, that civil case had been on pause pending Corado’s criminal case. Now that she has been criminally sentenced, it is likely that a judge could decide to allow the civil case to continue.