Casa Ruby receiver files complaint against Ruby Corado, former board members

May 15, 2023

Wanda Alston Foundation seeks restitution, ‘punitive damages’

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The Wanda Alston Foundation, which assumed control over the operations of the LGBTQ community services group Casa Ruby in August under a court appointed receivership role, filed its own civil complaint on Dec. 23 in D.C. Superior Court against former Casa Ruby Executive Director Ruby Corado and eight former members of the Casa Ruby board of directors.

News of the Wanda Alston Foundation complaint surfaced at a Jan. 6 D.C. Superior Court status hearing for the pending civil complaint against Casa Ruby and Corado filed by the Office of the D.C. Attorney General this past July and as amended by the office with additional allegations in November.

The attorney general's complaint, among other things, alleges that Casa Ruby, under Corado's leadership, violated the city's Nonprofit Corporations Act in connection with its financial dealings. The amended complaint charges that Corado withdrew more than $400,000 of Casa Ruby funds for unauthorized use in El Salvador.

For unexplained reasons, the Superior Court's online court records, including the court docket, did not show that the Wanda Alston Foundation had filed its separate complaint against Corado and the board members as of Friday, the day of the court status hearing.

The court docket as of Jan. 6 also did not show that the Wanda Alston Foundation on Dec. 16 filed its Receiver's Third Interim Report, which is highly critical of Corado and the Casa Ruby board. The Washington Blade obtained copies of the interim report and the Wanda Alston Foundation complaint from the court's media and public affairs director.

The Wanda Alston Foundation complaint identifies each of the eight former board members as defendants and "respectfully request[s] restitution, compensatory damages, punitive damages, receivership fees and expenses, court costs, attorneys’ fees and expenses, and any other relief the court deems necessary and proper."

The board of directors "failed to hold regular meetings and/or maintain official records — thereby exercising no oversight or governance over the organization," the complaint states.

"Ever Alfaro, Carlos Gonzales, Consuella Lopez, Jackie Martinez, Hassan Naveed, Jack Quintana-Harrison (sic), Miguel Rivera and Meredith Zotlick were directors of Casa Ruby, Inc.," the complaint says. "By neglecting their duty to provide any oversight and governance, they engaged in a persistent course of conduct that caused tortious injury to the organization," the complaint states.

Harrison-Quintana on Saturday declined to comment to the Blade. Lopez and Naveed did not return requests for comment.

In its allegations against Corado, which it says are based on its own investigation since assuming the role as Casa Ruby receiver, the Wanda Alston Foundation complaint uses stronger language than that used in the D.C. attorney general's complaint.

"Ms. Corado drained the organization's accounts and unjustly enriched herself through multiple cash withdrawals, checks and money orders, wire transactions, online payment services and electronic funds transfers to herself and to other companies that she set up — embezzling over $800,000 from the organization," the complaint states.

Superior Court Judge Danya A. Dayson, who is presiding over the Casa Ruby case, pointed out at the Jan. 6 court hearing that the Wanda Alston Foundation submitted a required court filing called a Motion for Leave asking for permission to file its own complaint against Corado, the Casa Ruby board members and the three individual companies that Corado created that are defendants in the attorney general's complaint.

Dayson said the parties named in the Wanda Alston Foundation complaints have a right to file an objection to the Motion for Leave, and she set a deadline of Friday, Jan. 13, for filing such an objection. The judge then said if she approves the Motion for Leave by the Wanda Alston Foundation, the deadline for the parties, including Corado and the board members, to file a response to the Wanda Alston Foundation's complaint against them will be March 6.

Dayson said the parties named in the attorney general's complaint, which include Corado and companies she created, must also file their response to that complaint by March 6.

Corado has denied engaging in any improper financial actions and has insisted the Casa Ruby board approved her actions, including her decision to open a Casa Ruby operation in El Salvador.

In an interview last month in El Salvador, where she now lives, Corado told the Blade the allegations that D.C. officials have made against her amount to "persecution."

At the Jan. 6 status hearing, which was held virtually through the court's online Webex system, Corado reiterated what she has said in previous court hearings — that the D.C. government was responsible for Casa Ruby's closing in July 2022 by withholding hundreds of thousands of dollars that Corado says the city owes Casa Ruby for services it provided under city grants.

City officials have disputed those claims, saying the funds were withheld or discontinued because Casa Ruby did not provide the required documentation or reports showing that it performed the work associated with city grants.

Similar to an earlier court hearing in September, Corado at the Jan. 6 hearing told Dayson that she had yet to retain an attorney to represent her. Dayson told Corado that because she is named as a defendant in the attorney general's complaint and in the complaint filed by the Wanda Alston Foundation, which is listed as a "cross complaint," Corado or an attorney representing her must file a response to the complaints.

The judge also pointed out that Corado is listed as the registered agent for three limited liability companies that Corado created to reportedly help Casa Ruby provide services to its clients, including a Casa Ruby pharmacy. Both the attorney general's complaint and the Wanda Alston Foundation compliant name the three LLC companies as defendants. The judge said Corado would be responsible for arranging for the three LLCs to file a response to the two complaints against them.

In its 12-page Receiver's Third Interim Report filed in court on Dec. 16, the Wanda Alston Foundation said it conducted its own investigation into Casa Ruby's operations using, among other things, detailed financial records it obtained from Ayala, Vado and Associates, an accounting firm that provided accounting services for Casa Ruby for over five years from at least 2016 to 2020. The documents it obtained, the report says, include multiple Casa Ruby bank records and records of cash withdrawals by Corado.

"Based on our review of the accounting firm's records, Casa Ruby, Inc. did not collapse due to the loss of an $800,000 grant from the District of Columbia," the report says. "In 2021, financial records show deposits from multiple revenue streams totaling $5,169,098 to M&T Tailored Business Checking Account," the Wanda Alston Foundation report says, noting that a significant stream of income came from private donors.

"The organization failed because of multiple cash withdrawals and overseas transfers that Ms. Corado made to set herself up for a lavash retirement in El Salvador," the report states. "She made no secret of her intentions — openly broadcasting them on social media," it says. "When it was evident that there was no meaningful oversight by the board of directors, she finally dropped all pretenses and started openly looting the organization."

Nick Harrison, an attorney representing the Wanda Alston Foundation in its role as the Casa Ruby receiver, told the Blade the Wanda Alston Foundation decided to file its own complaint as an extension of its mission of serving the needs of the LGBTQ community.

"In our capacity as receiver, the Wanda Alston Foundation has taken legal action in the form of a cross-party complaint and a third-party complaint to attempt to recover some of the financial losses of Casa Ruby," Harrison said. He said the Wanda Alston Foundation complaint names Casa Ruby board members as defendants because the board "had a legal and ethical responsibility to protect the organization's finances, the vulnerable clients they served, and the community members they employed."

In her interview with the Blade from El Salvador in December, Corado said she believes she is being targeted because she always tells the truth and people are being distracted from the truth because of a system that benefits from "lies and defamation."

During the Jan. 6 court hearing, Corado said she has received threats against her life since the D.C. attorney general first filed its complaint against her and the Wanda Alston Foundation released derogatory statements against her in the receiver's reports.

"It really puts my life in danger," she said.

Dayson scheduled the next court hearing for the Casa Ruby case on March 17.

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Bowser says there are no credible threats to events

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Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend the Capital Pride Parade on Saturday.

The parade will follow a 1.5-mile route that will step off on 14th Street at T Street, N.W., and finish on P Street at 21st Street, N.W. A map of the expected parade route can be found on the Capital Pride website.

The Capital Block Party will take place at the intersection of Q and 17th Streets, N.W., during the parade. The party will feature local vendors, food trucks and a 21+ beverage garden and it will also have a designated viewing area for families with children to watch the parade, along with other children's activities.

The fourth annual Pride on the Pier will take place at the Wharf during the parade. The event, hosted by the Washington Blade, LURe DC and the Wharf, will have a fireworks show, a DJ and more.

The parade will be followed by the Capital Pride Festival on June 11. Taking place on Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., the festival will feature more than 300 booths with local vendors, businesses and organizations. From 12-8 p.m., the Capital Pride Concert will host acts such as Broadway actress Idina Menzel and "RuPaul's Drag Race" winner Monét X Change.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser last Thursday told the Washington Blade after she helped to raise the Progress Pride flag at the Wilson Building that there have been no credible threats to any upcoming Pride events in D.C. amid a rise in violence against the LGBTQ community.

"MPD is constantly working with all of our agencies to make sure we have safe special events and we’re going to keep going with our planning, like we do every year," Bowser said. "There's always a scan for any threats to the District."

The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating a bomb threat made on Twitter for the annual District Pride concert scheduled for June 29 at the Lincoln Theatre.

Temperatures are forecast to reach the mid-80s on Saturday and the low-90s on Sunday. Precipitation chances on both days are low.

With recent air quality issues, Alert DC is advising those with respiratory issues to wear masks, avoid strenuous activities and reduce time spent outdoors.

Further details and a full calendar of events can be found on the Capital Pride website.

Mayor spoke with the Blade after flag-raising ceremony at the Wilson Building

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D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on Thursday said authorities have not received any credible threats to upcoming Pride events.

"We don't have any to report," she told the Washington Blade.

"MPD is constantly working with all of our agencies to make sure we have safe special events and we’re going to keep going with our planning, like we do every year," added Bowser. "There's always a scan for any threats to the District."

Bowser spoke with the Blade after she joined D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson, Council members Anita Bonds, Charles Allen, Kenyon McDuffie and Zachary Parker, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb, D.C. Mayor's LGBTQ Affairs Office Director Japer Bowles and other officials and activists in raising the Progress Pride flag in front of the Wilson Building.

The Blade last month reported D.C. police are investigating a bomb threat a Twitter user made against the annual District Pride concert that will take place at the Lincoln Theater on June 29. Bowles in a May 19 statement said his office reported the tweet, but further stressed that "no credible threat at this time has been made."

‘Resources to succeed and thrive rather than just make it through’

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Many in D.C. know the Point Foundation for its longstanding scholarship program and its popular Taste of Point fundraiser each spring. But the nonprofit is offering a growing range of services to its young scholars, including mental health resources and social media support.

This year's Taste of Point brought mixologists, restaurateurs, and donors together on May 3 at Room and Board for the annual celebration. With a number of local businesses and organizations donating to the silent auction, the event both raised money for Point Foundation's scholarships while recognizing scholarship recipients and program alumni.

Among the lineup of featured speakers was one of the foundation's flagship scholarship recipients, Rio Dennis, a dual master's and law candidate at Georgetown University.

"I applied for the Point Foundation Flagship Scholarship because I believed in its mission of helping LGBTQ+ students achieve their academic goals while also providing training and resources so we can become better leaders within the LGBTQ community during school and long term," Dennis said in her speech.

The Taste of Point celebration began in 2013, born from another event called the Cornerstone Reception. Originally planned as a normal fundraiser with hor d’oeuvres, the foundation transformed it into the current Taste of Point celebration that facilitates partnerships with new, local restaurants.

Some restaurants, like Compass Rose and Hank's Oyster Bar, partnered with Point Foundation for their first celebration. They have been catering at the fundraiser ever since.

"It really gives you the sense of the amount of love and the amount of community that we have around the Point Foundation and mission," said Celina Gerbic, a member on the foundation's board of directors. "They really see, with hearing from the scholars, what the effects can be if we’re raising money for those scholarships and mentoring opportunities."

The event also allows the foundation to showcase new offerings, such as the Community College Scholarship that was rolled out in 2016. The community college program gives scholars a financial scholarship to support their costs in community college as well as coaching and admissions counseling for students planning to transfer to a university.

The foundation is expanding all of its programs. In the next academic year, Point will offer 574 scholarships and grants to students around the country. This includes scholars in its BIPOC scholarship, the newest and largest program at Point.

Omari Foote, one of the current BIPOC scholarship recipients, appreciates how the scholarship recognizes her as a Black queer student. She is even encouraging other queer students and friends to apply to receive similar assistance.

However, Point is even more than that, Dennis notes.

Before the school year started, the Point Foundation sent Dennis and all of the new flagship scholars to Los Angeles for a leadership development conference. Scholars discussed how to become active leaders on campus, how to ask for certain resources, what is offered by their campuses, and what tutoring programs are available.

Last year, Point also launched a joint partnership with an online therapy program to offer discounted prices for all scholars.

"I have anxiety and depression and I struggled a lot in undergrad with trying to balance that with my having to support myself financially," Dennis said. "So I was definitely grateful that Georgetown did have a program that is specifically for people of color to get free therapy and Point definitely helped with… asking those questions because it is one of those programs that isn't as well publicized."

Point even provided Dennis with a mentor who was also a Point Scholar in law school. Meeting monthly on Zoom and texting all throughout the month, Dennis's mentor provides academic support that helps her use the right resources and make decisions about her career.

Foote finds the scholarship unique in other ways as well. As a recipient of a handful of other scholarships outside of Point, Foote's interactions with her scholarship programs mostly stop after they send instructions for writing donor thank you notes. But Point keeps reaching out to maintain a relationship with scholars long after that.

"They’ve reached out to me to spotlight me on Instagram," Foote said. "They reached out to me even for this dinner, paying for my transportation to and from the dinner … It's like they’re not just there to give you the money. They’re there to really help you navigate the college world and to be that caring supportive system that a lot of us just don't have anymore now that we are living by ourselves."

Last November, the foundation also held an Out in Higher Ed Week, wherein they teach scholars how to be LGBTQ+ advocates on campus. These resources help students navigate the ins and outs of discussing LGBTQ+ issues in university settings.

After graduation, Dennis has even thought about returning to the Point Foundation as a mentor to help future Black queer students, especially first generation law students, balance their mental health and financial situations.

"Point has connected me with fellow scholars who have become my friends. Point has provided me with resources and support to succeed and thrive rather than just make it through," Dennis said. "I definitely plan on continuing to be involved with Point."

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