A former executive director and former employee of Queens Defenders, a nonprofit that provided legal and community support services to low-income Queens residents, were sentenced Tuesday to federal prison for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the organization.
Lori Zeno, 65, of Garden City, was sentenced to 43 months in prison, while Rashad Ruhani, 56, of Corona, received a 57-month sentence, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
U.S. District Judge Rachel P. Kovner also ordered the defendants to pay $656,349.57 in restitution to Queens Defenders. Zeno was ordered to forfeit $187,014.24, and Ruhani was ordered to forfeit $102,534.27.
Zeno helped establish Queens Defenders in 1996 and later served as its executive director. The organization provided assistance in criminal, domestic violence, housing and other legal matters and had helped more than 500,000 people since its founding, according to court records cited by Courthouse News.
Zeno hired Ruhani to work for Queens Defenders in October 2023. Federal prosecutors said the pair diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars from the nonprofit between June 2024 and January 2025.
The spending included more than $10,000 for a vacation to Bali, $1,700 at a luxury resort in Santa Monica, California, and $3,300 for an 85-inch television installed in a penthouse apartment.
They also spent thousands of dollars on food deliveries and purchases from retailers including Ralph Lauren and Neiman Marcus, prosecutors said. In one instance, more than $4,000 was charged to a Queens Defenders credit card for a Louis Vuitton handbag.
Prosecutors said Zeno and Ruhani falsely described personal purchases as business expenses to obtain approval for the spending. They also secured more than $39,000 in reimbursements for rent on the penthouse by submitting altered lease documents that concealed Zeno’s involvement.
Zeno also arranged positions at the nonprofit for Ruhani’s relatives and associates who performed little or no substantive work, according to court filings. One woman married to Ruhani was hired as director of a nonexistent health and wellness program with a $60,000 salary.
Zeno and Ruhani previously pleaded guilty in the federal case. During Tuesday’s sentencing, Zeno apologized and said she had disappointed her family, friends and people who had trusted her, according to Courthouse News.
The organization said in a sentencing filing that the embezzlement scandal caused an “institutional catastrophe” and led to the loss of $35 million in contracts to represent low-income clients. Brooklyn Defender Services later absorbed Queens Defenders’ core legal work, transferring staff and certain contracts to the neighboring organization.
Federal prosecutors said Queens Defenders also lost its New York City contract to provide criminal defense services to low-income residents because of the misuse of its funds.
“Instead of upholding the law and serving those in need, the defendants greedily served themselves by spending those funds on luxury goods, lavish travel, and other personal indulgences,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said.
Zeno, who remains free on bail, was ordered to surrender Sept. 28 to begin serving her sentence. Ruhani remains in federal custody.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the New York City Department of Investigation and prosecuted by the Eastern District’s Public Integrity Section.
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