District of Columbia
Gay man gets 6.5 years in prison for stealing $2.1 million in pandemic funds
Former D.C. Catholic official pleaded guilty
In a little-noticed development, a federal judge on Sept. 2 sentenced Kenneth P. Gaughan, a gay former assistant superintendent and contracting liaison for the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, to six years and six months in prison on charges that he fraudulently obtained more than $2.1 million in funds for personal use from two federal COVID relief programs.
Records from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia show that Gaughan pleaded guilty on March 2, 2022, as part of a plea bargain offer by prosecutors to partially reduced charges related to the COVID relief program case as well as to a charge that he embezzled more than $438,000 from the Archdiocese of Washington, where he was employed from 2008 to 2018.
A statement released by the Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C. says Gaughan pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering in the federal relief fund case and one count of wire fraud in the case involving the Archdiocese of Washington.
Gaughan was released while awaiting trial after his arrest on Aug. 11, 2020, on a criminal complaint that combined the charges from the federal relief fund case and the Archdiocese of Washington case.
In addition to the six years and six months prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Tanya S. Chutkan sentenced Gaughan to three years of supervised probation upon his release. She also ordered that he pay restitution for the money he is charged with stealing through fraud and embezzlement at an amount to be determined at a Nov. 15 restitution hearing, according to court records.
“For a decade, Kenneth Gaughan stole money meant to help needy people, businesses, and organizations, starting with a scheme defrauding his own employer and later looting government COVID-relief efforts,” said U.S. Attorney for D.C. Matthew M. Graves in a statement released at the time of the sentencing.
“He went to great lengths to conceive, carry out, and conceal his crimes,” Graves said. “Now, he will be facing the consequences of his greed with confinement in a federal prison.”
The statement released by the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office says Gaughan’s work at the Archdiocese of Washington, which oversees churches and Catholic schools in D.C. and Maryland, included overseeing services such as anti-bullying programs, crisis intervention, and professional development efforts at approximately 95 Catholic schools.
“Beginning in at least June 2010 and continuing through April 2018, Gaughan caused the Archdiocese to pay invoices manufactured by Gaughan purportedly for anti-bullying and crisis intervention programs, as well as for software used to send mass messages to Archdiocese students and families,” the statement says. It says he concealed his ownership and control of three companies that billed the Archdiocese for services the fake companies never performed.
The statement says Gaughan targeted the COVID-related Federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) program for his fraud scheme in which he allegedly stole more than $2.1 million. It points to evidence gathered by the FBI and the IRS showing that Gaughan created at least nine fake companies to apply for COVID relief loans that, under the relief programs, do not have to be repaid.
Charges filed in court show that most of the fake companies Gaughan created purported to provide support for animals, using such names as Service Dog of America, Inc. and Therapy Dog Incorporated.
“Gaughan made false representations to receive the loan funds, including forged paperwork and bank records,” the U.S. Attorney’s statement says. “Gaughan then used a portion of the loan proceeds to purchase a 2020 Cruisers Yachts 338 CX 33-foot watercraft, a 2020 Kia Stinger, and a rowhouse in Northeast Washington,” according to the statement.
A sentencing memorandum filed in court by prosecutors in August called on the judge to hand down a sentence of 78 months in prison, which is what the judge handed down at the Sept. 2 sentencing. The sentencing memo also notes that Gaughan agreed in his plea deal to pay restitution in the amount of $2,620,665.99, a higher amount than the amount prosecutors initially said he stole through the government relief programs and from the Archdiocese of Washington.
“The higher amount includes additional victim requests made after the entry of the plea that should be awarded as mandatory restitution,” the sentencing memo says.
The memo makes no mention of whether Gaughan has the financial ability to pay that amount.
Property records from the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue show that the townhouse that Gaughan allegedly bought with stolen and embezzled funds at 112 V St., N.E. in June 2020 for $1,089,000 was sold by the city in a tax sale in August of this year. The city property records show the owner, which was identified as 112 V St., NE Trust, was $24,596 in arrears in property taxes. The Blade couldn’t immediately determine whether Gaughan or someone else owned the 112 V St., NE Trust company.
Court records also show that Gaughan’s attorney, Jonathan N. Rosen, filed a motion in court on Sept. 15 requesting that Gaughan be placed in the Federal Correctional Institution prison in Morgantown, W.Va. “and that the defendant be allowed to self-surrender after the restitution hearing in these matters,” which is scheduled for Nov. 15.
Although the public court records do not show whether Gaughan was ordered to begin his prison sentence at the time of the Sept. 2 sentencing, the motion by his attorney suggests he may not have been sent to jail at the time the motion was filed on Sept. 15.
Rosen couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
District of Columbia
Doc on Blade reporter Chibbaro scores Emmy nomination
‘Lou’s Legacy’ chronicles 50-year career
“Lou’s Legacy: A Reporter’s Life at the Washington Blade” has been nominated for a Capital Emmy in the “Documentary – Historical” category by the National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
“Our members include all of the video content producers who serve our local audiences in Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia—from the Atlantic to the Appalachians, from Bristol to Baltimore,” said Capitol Emmys President Adam Longo in a press release.
Broadcast last June by WETA PBS in Washington, D.C. and MPT in Maryland, the documentary was directed and produced by Emmy-nominated filmmaker Patrick Sammon in association with the Mattachine Society of Washington, D.C. Additional nominees who worked on the film include producer Julianne Donofrio and editor Amir Jaffer.
“Lou’s Legacy” tells the story of two D.C. icons — legendary Washington Blade reporter Lou Chibbaro Jr. and beloved drag performer Donnell Robinson, known to generations of Washington audiences as “Ella Fitzgerald.” Through Chibbaro’s nearly five-decade career at the Blade and Ella’s return to the stage after a three-year hiatus following COVID, the 29-minute documentary explores the history of Washington’s LGBTQ community and today’s rising backlash against LGBTQ rights, including laws targeting drag performers.
“We’re honored that Lou’s Legacy has been recognized alongside such an impressive group of historical documentaries,” said Sammon. “This nomination is especially meaningful because the film preserves and celebrates the stories of people who helped shape queer history in Washington, DC — often without recognition from mainstream institutions. We’re deeply grateful to the Mattachine Society, Lou Chibbaro Jr., Donnell Robinson, WETA PBS, and everyone who helped bring this project to life.”
“Lou’s Legacy” premiered on WETA PBS in June 2025 during Pride month. The documentary also broadcast on Maryland Public Television and is streaming nationally on PBS.org. WETA will rebroadcast “Lou’s Legacy” several times during Pride month, including June 15 th at 9 p.m. Winners of the Capital Emmy Awards will be announced at the Capital Emmy Gala on June 20 at the Bethesda Marriott Hotel.
District of Columbia
D.C. Black Pride set for Memorial Day Weekend
Dozens of events to reflect theme of ‘New Black Renaissance’
D.C.’s annual LGBTQ Black Pride celebration is scheduled to take place May 22-25 as it has since its founding 35 years ago on Memorial Day Weekend with several dozen events in locations across the city.
Like recent years, most of the official events are scheduled to take place at the Westin D.C. Downtown Hotel, including the Opening Reception on Friday, May 22, when Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Durand Bernarr was scheduled to be among the performers.
“This high-energy reception brings together community leaders, creatives, tastemakers, and visitors from across the globe for a night rooted in connection, joy, and celebration,” according to a statement on the Black Pride website.
Also, like past years, the second day of official Black Pride events set for Saturday, May 23, will include a dozen workshop sessions on a wide range of issues and topics. The workshop sessions will take place at the Westin Hotel.
On that same day, Black Trans Pride is scheduled to take place at the hotel from 1- 6 p.m., according to the official schedule of events.
“The goal is and always has been to make sure we have events for everybody, regardless of their financial situation, regardless of their agenda,” said Kenya Hutton, president and CEO of the Center For Black Equity, the D.C. LGBTQ group that organizes D.C. Black Pride.
Hutton said this year for the first time there will be a D.C. Black Pride Fun Run. The Black Pride website says the 5k run will take place Saturday, May 23, from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. starting at the Frederick Douglass Bride near the D.C. Navy Yard.
He said another first will be a film screening of the documentary film “Not Your Average Girl,” about the life of trans woman, author, and advocate Hope Giselle, scheduled for May 22 at the nearby Eaton Hotel.
Also, like in past years, this year’s Black Pride will feature a Rainbow Row organization and vendor expo at the Westin from 5-9 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday that includes information tables set up by organizations and vendors.
The annual Pride In The Park event will take place Monday, May 25, from 12-7 p.m. at Fort Dupont Park located at 3600 F St., S.E. And the seventh annual “Brunch & Babes” drag event was scheduled for Sunday, May 24, at Hook Hall nightclub at 3400 Georgia Ave., N.W.
Among the other events taking place at other locations is a Sunday, May 24 “G-Spot Day Party” organized by local gay activist Geno Dunnington to be held at Bravo Bravo nightclub at 1001 Connecticut Ave., N.W. from 3-9 p.m. Dunnington told the Washington Blade the event will include the playing of house music, which he says played a role in local D.C. Black LGBTQ culture and in the first Black Pride celebration in 1991. The Black Pride website includes a write up of how that came about.
“From 1976 until1990, the ClubHouse in Washington, D.C. was a remarkable nightclub founded by Black members of D.C.’s LGBTQ community, widely known for its signature event – the Children’s Hour,” the write-up says. “This event was a true celebration and took place annually during Memorial Day weekend,” it says.
“When the ClubHouse closed in 1990, many feared the Memorial Day tradition would be lost,” the write-up continues. “However, three men – Welmore Cook, Theodore Kirkland, and Ernest Hopkins – envisioned creating an event that would continue the tradition of the Children’s Hour while also bringing awareness to the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic in their community.”
The write-up adds, “Their vision and hard work gave life to the first Black Gay and Lesbian Pride event on May 25, 1991, on the grounds of Banneker Field,” which is located near Howard University. “This first event drew 800 people, who were centered around the theme of ‘Let’s All Come Together.’”
It says organizers expanded the scope of the Black Pride events over the next several years as it evolved and prompted Black Pride events in other cities and the formation of the International Federation of Black Prides, which later became the Center for Black Equity.
“D.C. Black Pride was the catalyst for what is now regarded as the Black Pride Movement,” the writeup says. “Since its birth, more than 50 other Black Pride celebrations now take place throughout the world, many using D.C. Black Pride as its model.”
It adds, “Today, more than 500,000 members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community of African descent and their allies come to Washington, D.C. on Memorial Day weekend to celebrate the beauty of a shared community and raise awareness and funding for HIV/AIDS in the name and spirit of Black Pride.”
Hutton said D.C. Black Pride has grown to a point where organizers cannot keep track of all the unofficial events taking place.
“There are a number of events that are not even on our website,” he said. “They’re parties. People are having cookouts. There are all kinds of things that are happening over the weekend, that are official listed events, partner events, and non-partner events.”
Hutton said that while D.C. Black Pride’s support from corporate and business sponsors has remained stable, Black Pride organizations in other cities have been hit hard by the growing reluctance by businesses to sponsor LGBTQ related events and LGBTQ organizations brought about by the Trump administration’s opposition to so-called diversity, equity and inclusion or “DEI” programs.
He said several Black Pride groups have had to curtail their annual celebrations’ scope, with some facing the prospect of cancelling their celebrations due to a sharp decrease in funds from business donors. D.C. Black Pride has also faced the impact of anti-DEI pressure from the Trump administration, according to Hutton, from businesses that have asked not to be publicly identified as sponsors.
“The administration has put pressure on some of our traditional sponsors, and we have some sponsors this year who have told us don’t put our ad, don’t put our logo, don’t put anything out” to publicly identify them as sponsors, Hutton said. “They still want to support us but can’t announce they are financially supporting us in any kind of way,” he said.
As she has in recent past years, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser this year issued an official mayoral proclamation declaring May 22-25, 2026 as “DC BLACK PRIDE WEEKEND.”
A list of the official 2026 D.C. Black Pride and partner events and their locations can be accessed at dcblackpride.org.
District of Columbia
HIV Vaccine Awareness Day set for May 18
Whitman-Walker joins nationwide recognition of efforts to develop vaccine
Whitman-Walker Health, the D.C.-based community healthcare center that specializes in HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ-related health services, will join health care advocates from across the country to support efforts to develop an HIV vaccine on HIV Vaccine Awareness Day on May 18.
“HIV Awareness Day, observed annually on May 18, was established to recognize and thank the volunteers, scientists, health professionals, and community members working toward a safe and effective prevention HIV vaccine,” Whitman-Walker said in a statement.
“Led by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the day is also an opportunity to educate communities about the critical importance of preventive HIV vaccine research,” the statement says.
It adds, “The reality is that any new vaccine discovery must be built community by community, institution by institution, and then it must reach everyone – especially the communities who have carried the heaviest burden of this epidemic.”
On its own website, the National Institutes of Health says HIV Vaccine Awareness Day also highlights its longstanding efforts, coordinated by its Office of AIDS Research, to support researchers’ efforts to develop an HIV vaccine.
“Researchers are making promising headway in efforts to develop a safe, effective HIV vaccine,” it says in a statement on its website.
A Whitman-Walker spokesperson said Whitman-Walker was not holding a specific event to observe HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, but it will recognize the day as a way of encouragement for its ongoing work to address the AIDS epidemic and support for vaccine research.
“Today, no one has to die from HIV,” said Whitman-Walker’s Health System division’s CEO, Dr. Heather Aaron in the Whitman-Walker statement. “We have the treatments, the technology, and the research to change outcomes, and yet people in our community are still dying from HIV//AIDS,” she said in the statement.
“That is unacceptable, and it is exactly why our work continues,” she added. “Here in D.C. with more focus on Southeast D.C., the Whitman-Walker Health System remains committed to making a difference through cutting-edge research, policy advocacy, and philanthropy, because fair access to life-saving treatment is not a privilege. It is a right.”
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