WASHINGTON — Ruby Jade Corado, the founder of Casa Ruby, a former Washington, D.C.–based nonprofit that served the LGBTQ+ community, was sentenced Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, to nearly three years in federal prison for diverting federal pandemic relief funds for personal use after authorities said she sold her Prince George’s County, Maryland, home and fled the United States as financial scrutiny intensified.
Corado, 56, pleaded guilty in July 2024 to one count of wire fraud before U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden. The judge sentenced her to 33 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and ordered her to pay $956,215 in restitution to the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Federal prosecutors said Corado received more than $1.3 million through the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program on behalf of Casa Ruby, a nonprofit she founded and controlled. Instead of using the funds for payroll, housing, and other allowable expenses, Corado misappropriated more than $950,000, including wiring at least $150,000 to personal bank accounts in El Salvador, according to court records.
Charging documents show Corado used a separately owned consulting company, TIGloballogistics LLC, to funnel funds from Casa Ruby’s accounts before transferring the money overseas. Prosecutors said Corado also falsely certified that PPP funds were properly used in order to obtain full loan forgiveness.
Court records indicate that as Casa Ruby’s financial problems became public in 2022, Corado sold her home in Prince George’s County, Maryland, and left the United States for El Salvador. The nonprofit soon shuttered its transitional housing programs, failed to pay employees, and faced eviction from multiple properties for unpaid rent.
Corado was not arrested abroad. FBI agents took her into custody on March 5, 2024, at a hotel in Laurel, Maryland, after she returned to the United States.
Casa Ruby had claimed to provide housing and social services to homeless LGBTQ+ youth and immigrants, including case management, mental health support, and assistance with immigration-related applications. At its peak, the organization reported employing more than 50 people and serving thousands annually through multiple locations in Washington, D.C. Casa Ruby ceased operations in July 2022.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the D.C. Office of Inspector General. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Borchert and former federal prosecutors Madhu Chugh and Kathryn Rakoczy.
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