Image by Todd Franson; Ruby Corado – Photo: Divalizeth Murillo
A federal judge has sentenced Ruby Corado, the founder and former executive director of the now-shuttered D.C. nonprofit Casa Ruby, to 33 months in federal prison for wire fraud — a punishment that could ultimately lead to her deportation from the United States, despite her status as a legal permanent resident.
On January 13, U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden granted federal prosecutors’ request for a more severe sentence, exceeding the 15-21 months recommended under federal sentencing guidelines.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia argued that Corado betrayed the trust of Casa Ruby’s clients by transferring $200,000 to personal offshore bank accounts in her native El Salvador, held under her birth name, for what prosecutors said was the purpose of enriching herself.
The funds Corado wired to El Salvador came from a larger pool of $956,215 that Casa Ruby received in 2020 through the COVID-era Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) programs.
As executive director, Corado accepted the funds, which were intended to allow the nonprofit to continue providing temporary and transitional housing, clothing, food, HIV testing, and support services such as legal assistance and counseling to its clients, including LGBTQ homeless youth, transgender and nonbinary individuals, LGBTQ victims of violence, and immigrants.
The 54-year-old has repeatedly claimed that she wired the $200,000 to her account in El Salvador to launch a Casa Ruby branch focused on helping LGBTQ Salvadorans — who face state-sponsored discrimination and violence — safely leave the country for the United States, where many would seek asylum. The venture ultimately failed.
Corado was arrested in March 2024 on multiple charges related to fraud and money laundering. In July, she pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in exchange for the government dropping the remaining charges.
McFadden addressed Corado directly during sentencing, telling her, “You came to this country hiding under the floorboards of the vegetable truck and this country gave you refuge. You betrayed this country.”
In addition to the 33-month prison sentence, McFadden ordered Corado to pay $956,215 — the full amount Casa Ruby received in 2020 — and imposed two years of supervised release, provided she is not deported after serving her sentence.
Despite holding legal permanent resident status, Corado’s conviction is likely to trigger deportation proceedings, according to the Washington Post.
Corado’s attorney, Pleasant Brodnax, argued for a lesser sentence, noting that Corado’s status as an immigrant — regardless of legal status — would likely place her at risk of deportation amid the Trump administration’s aggressive enforcement efforts targeting immigrants convicted of crimes.
In a pre-sentencing memo, Brodnax asked the court to sentence Corado to time served — including 18 months of house arrest at her niece’s home in Rockville — along with GPS monitoring.
Brodnax argued that Corado had “fully intended to use the funds for Casa Ruby’s purposes,” not for personal enrichment. He also contended that Corado should only be required to pay restitution for the $200,000 wired to El Salvador, noting that the remaining funds stayed in Casa Ruby’s bank account and that prosecutors had not proven they were improperly spent.
He further argued that incarcerating Corado would place her at heightened risk of harm due to her transgender status and what he described as changes to “the federal protections designed to keep LGBTQ+ inmates safe” under the Trump administration.
Those changes include directives requiring transgender inmates to be housed according to their sex assigned at birth rather than their gender identity, increasing the likelihood that Corado would be placed in a men’s prison, where she could face physical or sexual violence.
It remains unclear whether Corado will serve her sentence in a men’s or women’s facility.
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