DC attorney general demands jury trial in Casa Ruby case

The D.C. Attorney General’s Office is doubling down on its civil lawsuit against LGBTQ nonprofit Casa Ruby and its founder Ruby Corado. The AG's office revised its complaint and is now demanding a jury trial to review what they say is hundreds of thousands of dollars in missing funds.

WASHINGTON - The D.C. Attorney General's Office is doubling down on its civil lawsuit against LGBTQ nonprofit Casa Ruby and its founder Ruby Corado.

The AG's Office revised its complaint and is not demanding a jury trial to review what they say is hundreds of thousands of dollars in missing funds.

Casa Ruby provided housing assistance to LGBTQ youth in the District and received nearly $10 million in city grants over the past five years.

"By misusing and failing to oversee the expenditure of nonprofit funds, Defendants Casa Ruby and Ruby Corado made it impossible for the nonprofit to meet its legal requirements to pay its employees and vendors for services rendered, pay its rent, and adhere to regulatory requirements," the complaint reads. "Defendants Ruby Corado and Casa Ruby’s failure to meet their fiduciary duties in ensuring that nonprofit funds are spent in ways that benefit the public and in accordance with Casa Ruby’s charitable purposes violates these responsibilities of a charitable corporation under the common law."

An investigation by D.C. Attorney General Carl Racine's office uncovered that Corado fled the U.S. with tens and thousands of dollars that belonged to the nonprofit, including her employees' salaries.

According to Casa Ruby's 2020 federal tax filing, the organization had over $4 million in total revenue, and Corado took home a $260,000 salary. Court records also reveal that Casa Ruby is facing at least three separate disputes over unpaid rent.

Raising funds for former Casa Ruby employees

Back in June, Casa Ruby, an organization based in D.C. that provided crucial services to the LGBTQ community stopped operating, sending people needing services to look elsewhere, and its employees without work and pay. FOX 5 reporter Nana-Sentuo Bonsu has more on how local groups are coming together to help.

One landlord complaint shows over one million dollars in unpaid rent and utilities from March 2020 to December 2021.

FOX 5 reached out to attorneys listed as representing Casa Ruby in those landlord/tenant disputes in D.C. superior court, but we have not heard back.

FOX 5 also spoke with two Casa Ruby employees who said they haven't received paychecks since the end of May. Neither had spoken to their boss, Corado, since May. And both said they hoped the mayor's words meant the city was willing to help those left behind who did the work and didn't get paid.