District of Columbia
Ruby Corado jailed after sentencing is postponed
Former Casa Ruby director pleaded guilty to wire fraud in 2024
A federal judge on Oct. 14 ordered Ruby Corado, the founder and former executive director of the now closed D.C. LGBTQ community services organization Casa Ruby, held in jail while she awaits sentencing on a charge of wire fraud to which she pleaded guilty in July 2024.
U.S. District Court Judge Trevor N. McFadden postponed the sentencing hearing, which had been scheduled for the next day on Oct. 15, after Corado’s court appointed public defender attorney withdrew her representation of Corado.
The attorney, Elizabeth Mullin, stated in a court motion that her reason for withdrawing from the case was an “irreconcilable breakdown in the attorney-client relationship.”
After calling Corado and Mullin to speak with him at the judge’s bench in a private conversation, McFadden told Corado he was revoking her release status while she awaited sentencing because he was concerned she would not return to court for her sentencing.
Corado disputed the judge’s concern, saying she has always returned to court for previous hearings and would return to court for the sentencing. McFadden refused to reverse his order that she be held until sentencing.
He said he would postpone the Oct. 15 sentencing to give Corado time to retain another lawyer. Corado told the Washington Blade prior to the Oct. 14 hearing outside the courtroom that she planned to retain her own attorney rather than use another court appointed attorney. She said she disputes the charge to which she pleaded guilty but declined to discuss the matter on grounds that she was restricted from publicly discussing her case
The judge’s postponement of the sentencing, which he did not reschedule, marked the seventh time Corado’s sentencing hearing has been postponed. Court records show the previous postponements came mostly at the request of Corado’s attorneys, with one caused by a medical issue faced by Corado.
Online court records posted later in the day on Oct. 14 show Judge McFadden scheduled a follow-up hearing for Dec. 15 at which time arrangements would be made for a new defense attorney to represent Corado.
The charge to which she pleaded guilty is based on the allegation that she diverted at least $180,000 “in taxpayer backed emergency COVID relief funds to private offshore bank accounts for her personal use,” according to an earlier statement released by prosecutors with the Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C.
Court records show that FBI agents arrested Corado on March 5, 2024, at a hotel in Laurel, Md., shortly after she returned to the U.S. from El Salvador, where authorities said she moved in 2022. Prosecutors have said in charging documents that she allegedly “fled” to El Salvador after “financial irregularities at Casa Ruby became public,” and the LGBTQ organization ceased operating.
Shortly after her arrest, another judge agreed to release Corado into the custody of her niece in Rockville, Md., under a home detention order until the time of her trial.
As part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, additional charges filed against her at the time of her arrest, including bank fraud, laundering monetary instruments, monetary transactions in criminally delivered proceeds, and failure to file a report of foreign bank accounts, were dropped at the time she pleaded guilty.
Under the federal wire fraud law Corado could be sentenced to a possible maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. But in a 16-page sentencing memorandum filed in court on Oct. 8, Assistant U.S. Attorney John W. Borchert, the lead prosecutor in the case, called for a sentence of 33 months of incarceration.
“The defendant and Casa Ruby received no less than $1.2 million in taxpayer-backed funds during the COVID-19 global health crisis,” the sentencing memo states. “But rather than use those funds to support Casa Ruby’s mission as the defendant promised, the defendant further contributed to its demise by unlawfully transferring no less than $180,000 of those federal emergency relief funds into her own private offshore bank accounts,” it says.
“Then when media reports suggested the defendant would be prosecuted for squandering Casa Ruby’s government funding, she sold her house and fled the country,” the memo says. “Meanwhile, the people who she had promised to pay with taxpayer-backed funds – her employees, landlord, and vendors – were left behind flat broke.”
In an Oct. 10 interview with WUSA-9 news, Corado disputed the claims that she used the funds she took from Casa Ruby to El Salvador for personal use. WUSA reports that Corado said she was working on a project to establish a Casa Ruby in El Salvador to help LGBTQ migrants avoid a “dangerous journey” to the U.S.
“At the time there was a huge crisis with immigration,” Corado said in an on-air interview. “We helped them. That was my mission,“ she said. When asked by WUSA if she left the U.S. as Casa Ruby folded, she replied, “There was a famous tweet that said it appears she has left the country. No, I was on and off.”
She added, “The first thing I want to say to people, mainly clients, I am sorry. I am sorry that I have not been there to support you the way I always have. That is something that is part of my healing.”
District of Columbia
Gay D.C. police lieutenant arrested on child porn charges
Matthew Mahl once served as head of LGBT Liaison Unit
D.C. police announced on April 14 that they have placed one of their lieutenants, Matthew Mahl, on administrative leave and revoked his police powers after receiving information that he was arrested in Maryland one day earlier.
Although the initial D.C. police announcement doesn’t disclose the reason for the arrest it refers to a statement by the Harford County, Md. Sheriff’s Office that discloses Mahl has been charged with sexual solicitation of a minor and child porn solicitation.
“On Tuesday, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office contacted MPD’s Internal Affairs Division shortly after arresting Lieutenant Matthew Mahl,” the D.C. police statement says.
“The allegations in this case are extremely disturbing, and in direct contrast to the values of the Metropolitan Police Department,” the statement continues. “MPD’s Internal Affairs Division will investigate violations of MPD policy once the criminal investigation concludes,” it says.
“MPD is not involved in the criminal investigation and was not aware of the investigation until yesterday,” the statement adds.
Mahl served as acting supervisor of the MPD’s then Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit in 2013 when he held the rank of sergeant. D.C. police officials placed him on administrative leave and suspended his police powers that same year while investigating an undisclosed allegation.
A source familiar with the investigation said Mahl was cleared of any wrongdoing a short time later and resumed his police duties. Around the time he was promoted to lieutenant several years later Mahl took on the role as chairman of the D.C. Police Union, becoming the first known openly gay officer to hold that position.
NBC 4 reports that Mahl, 47, has served on the police force for 23 years and most recently was assigned to the department’s Special Operations Division.
Records related to Mahl’s arrest filed in Harford County District Court, show Sheriff’s Department investigators state in charging documents that he allegedly committed the offenses of Sexual Solicitation of a Minor and Child Porn Solicitation on Monday, April 13, one day before he was arrested on April 14.
The court records show he was held without bond during his first appearance in court on April 14. A decision on whether he would be released while awaiting trial or continue to be held without bond was scheduled to be determined during an April 15 bond hearing. The outcome of that hearing could not be immediately determined.
District of Columbia
D.C. bar, LGBTQ+ Community Center to mark Lesbian Visibility Week
‘Ahead of the Curve’ documentary screening, ‘Queeroke’ among events
2026 Lesbian Visibility Week North America will take place from April 20-26.
This year marks the third annual Lesbian Visibility Week, run by the Curve Foundation. A host of events take place from April 20-26.
This year’s theme is Health and Wellness. For the Curve Foundation, the term “lesbian” serves as an umbrella term for a host of identities, including lesbians, bisexual and transgender women, and anyone else connected to the lesbian community.
The week kicks off with a flag-raising ceremony on April 19. It will take place in New York, but will be livestreamed for the public.
“Queeroke” is one of the events being held around the country. It will take place at various participating bars on April 23.
As You Are, an LGBTQ bar in Capitol Hill, is one of eight locations across the U.S. participating. Their event is free and 21+.
On April 24, the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center will hold a screening of “Ahead of the Curve,” a documentary about the founder of Curve, Franco Stevens. The event is free with an RSVP.
April 25, is Queer Women in Sports Day. And on April 26, several monuments in New York will be illuminated.
Virtual events ranging from health to sports will be made available to the public. Details will be released closer to the start of Lesbian Visibility Week. Featured events can be found on the official website.
Some ways for individuals to get involved are to use #LVW26 and tag the official Lesbian Visibility Week account on social media posts. People are encouraged to display their lesbian flags, and businesses can hand out pins and decorate. They can also reach out to local lawmakers to encourage them to issue an official Lesbian Visibility Week.
District of Columbia
Whitman-Walker Health to present ‘Pro Bono Excellence’ award to law firm
Health center set to celebrate 40th anniversary of legal services program
Whitman-Walker Health, the D.C.-based community healthcare center that specializes in HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ-related health services, announced it will present its annual Dale Edwin Sanders Award for Pro Bono Excellence to the international law firm McDermott Will & Schulte at a May 6 ceremony.
“This year’s award is especially significant as it coincides with the 40th anniversary of Whitman-Walker Health’s Legal Services Program, marking it as the nation’s longest running medical-legal partnership,” a statement released by Whitman-Walker says.
“As a national leader in public health, Whitman-Walker celebrates our partnership with McDermott to strengthen the health center and to enable Whitman-Walker to reach more medical and legal clients,” the statement adds.
“McDermott’s firm-wide commitment to Whitman-Walker’s medical-legal partnership demonstrates a shared vision to serve those most in need,” Amy Nelson, Whitman-Walker’s director of Legal Services, says in the statement. “Our work protects individuals and families who face discrimination and hostility as they navigate increasingly complex administrative systems,” Nelson said.
“Pro bono legal services – like that of McDermott Will & Schulte – find solutions for people who have no place else to turn in the face of financial and health threats,” she added.
“Our partnership with Whitman-Walker Health is a treasured commitment to serving our neighbors and communities,” Steven Schnelle, one of the law firm’s partners said in the statement. “We are deeply moved by Whitman-Walker’s unwavering dedication to inclusion, respect, and equitable access to health care and social services,” he said.
The statement notes that the award for Pro Bono Excellence honors the legacy of the late gay attorney Dale Edwin Sanders. It says Sanders’s pro bono legal work for Whitman-Walker clients “shaped HIV/AIDS law for more than four decades by securing key victories on behalf of individuals whose employment and patient rights were violated.”
It says the Whitman-Walker Legal Services program began during the early years of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s at a time when people with AIDS faced widespread discrimination and often needed legal assistance. According to the statement, the program evolved over the years and expanded to advocate for transgender people and immigrants.
Whitman-Walker spokesperson Lisa Amore said the presentation of the Dale Edwin Sanders Pro Bono Excellency Award will be held at the May 6 fundraising benefit for Whitman-Walker’s Legal Services Program. She said the event will take place at the offices of the DC law firm Baker McKenzie and ticket availability can be accessed here: https://www.whitman-walker.org/gtem-2026/
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