Ruby Corado, convicted for wire fraud linked to misappropriating COVID-relief funds from Casa Ruby, an LGBTQ+ nonprofit, has filed an appeal.
WASHINGTON — After a lengthy judicial process that ended with a nearly three-year sentencing in federal prison, Ruby Corado and her team are not done fighting.
On Sunday, DC court records showed Corado’s team filed an appeal of her conviction for wire fraud to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
On Tuesday, Corado was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison and ordered to repay $956,215 to the Small Business Administration in connection with diverting at least $150,000 in COVID-relief funds from Casa Ruby, a nonprofit in DC that provides services to the LGBTQ+ community, to private offshore bank accounts for personal use.
Casa Ruby provided housing services for homeless LGBTQ+ youth, including transitional housing. The nonprofit also provided LGBTQ+ immigrants with social services, including case management, therapeutic mental health support for survivors of violence, and assistance with passport applications and certain visa applications.
Casa Ruby effectively ceased operations in July 2022 when it shuttered its transitional housing, failed to pay its employees, and faced eviction from multiple properties for failure to pay rent.
According to court documents, in 2022, when financial irregularities at Casa Ruby became public, Corado sold her home in Prince George’s County, Maryland, and fled to El Salvador. FBI agents arrested Corado on March 5, 2024, at a hotel in Laurel, Maryland, when she unexpectedly returned to the United States. Corado pleaded guilty on July 17, 2024, to wire fraud.
Once released, Corado will be under 24 months of supervised release. She is currently being held at the Central Treatment Facility.