Queens attorney accused of draining public defense funds

BROOKLYN (CN) — Lori Zeno helped found the Queens Defenders two decades ago to provide legal services to people who can’t afford a lawyer. Over the past two years, prosecutors say she and her husband siphoned tens of thousands of dollars from the organization, using the funds for vacations, pricey dinners and a penthouse apartment.

Zeno, 64, was arraigned Wednesday in the Eastern District of New York. She and 55-year-old Rashad Ruhani each face three counts of wire fraud and a count each of wire fraud conspiracy, theft of funds and money laundering conspiracy.

In addition to stealing more than $60,000, Zeno used her position to secure no-show jobs for relatives of Ruhani, including his daughter, according to an indictment unsealed last week.

The government did not seek to detain Zeno, who presented a $500,000 bond package Wednesday secured by her son, older sister and brother-in-law, all of whom appeared in court.

She surrendered her passport and is barred from contact with Ruhani or any current or former Queens Defenders employees, except for her two children, who previously worked at the organization.

Ruhani, meanwhile, is in custody. U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph Marutollo asked prosecutors why.

“The codefendant had a significant history of serious violent crime … and was in fact on parole at the time the offenses were committed,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell Noble explained.

According to the government’s detention memo, Ruhani was convicted of attempted criminal possession of a weapon, attempted robbery with a dangerous instrument and robbery with an apparent firearm, “all under different aliases and all committed while he was already on probation for prior convictions.” The most recent conviction was in 1996 and Ruhani was released in July 2022 under lifetime parole supervision.

The memo says Zeno and Ruhani were married in a “religious ceremony” in August 2024, but clarified in a footnote: “The government does not believe this marriage is legally recognized and understands that both Zeno and Ruhani were married to other individuals.”

Ruhani’s wife, according to the memo, lives in Saudi Arabia — and was one of the no-show employees Zeno hired. She was the director of a nonexistent health and wellness program and was not in the U.S. during her employment, the indictment says.

That same summer, Zeno promoted Ruhani to a position managing the Queens Defenders’ youth program and allowed him a company credit card. Between June 2024 and January 2025, prosecutors say, the couple used organization credit cards to buy luxury clothing, pay for Mercedes-Benz repairs and fund vacations, including their honeymoon trip to Bali.

Zeno and Ruhani also got reimbursed for rent at a penthouse apartment, which Zeno claimed was to provide housing for a homeless minor, concealing that she and Ruhani were using it for themselves — as evidenced by DoorDash deliveries and an 85-inch smart TV delivered to the residence, also bought with organization funds.

Since its start in 1996, Queens Defenders has helped more than 500,000 people navigate criminal matters, domestic violence cases, housing court and other legal matters. Zeno served as executive director from 2018 until January of this year.

The organization is funded primarily by the city and state, in addition to private grants. It also receives some federal funding.

“Ultimately, through their misuse of the organization’s credit cards, fraudulent reimbursement requests, and low-show or no-show jobs, Zeno and Ruhani together embezzled or misapplied tens of thousands of dollars that were meant to fund legal services for indigent residents of Queens County,” prosecutors wrote in the detention memo.

Defense attorney Anthony Ricco represents Zeno. Following Wednesday’s arraignment, he suggested there is more to the story than what the government has laid out.

“Sometimes things are not quite what they appear to be,” Ricco said. “We have a lot to learn about a very short time period.”

He continued: “The question is, how does an attorney with so many decades of public service end up in the United States district court? You know — you know — there’s a story behind this.”

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