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Queens public defender boss stole TV, Bali vacation despite $430K salary, feds say
By
Samantha Max
Published Jun 11, 2025
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Photo by: Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
By
Samantha Max
Published Jun 11, 2025
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A vacation to Bali. A steakhouse dinner. An 85-inch smart TV.
These are some of the big-ticket purchases that executives at the Queens public defender organization made using funds that were supposed to go toward legal representation for low-income New Yorkers, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York.
A federal grand jury indicted Lori Zeno, the recently ousted executive director of Queens Defenders, on charges of wire fraud, theft and money laundering conspiracy. Rashad Ruhani, a former Queens Defenders employee and Zeno’s husband, was also indicted. Neither had entered a plea in the case as of Wednesday afternoon.
A 10-page indictment filed last week accuses Zeno and Ruhani of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from the public defender organization to cover their lavish lifestyle. It accuses them of using corporate credit cards for expensive trips, meals at high-end restaurants, shopping sprees at luxury stores and teeth whitening treatments.
Ruhani also asked Queens Defenders to reimburse him nearly $40,000 for rent and utilities for a penthouse apartment that he lived in with Zeno, according to the indictment. Prosecutors said he falsely claimed that the apartment was being used for “client defense” and “foster parent care.”
In all, Ruhani and Zeno took at least $60,000 from Queens Defenders for their own benefit, the indictment alleges.
Ruhani’s attorney and Zeno did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Since 1996, Queens Defenders has provided legal services for low-income New Yorkers in the borough. Zeno was a founder of the organization and served as its executive director until this past January. The Queens Daily Eagle reported earlier this year that the board placed her on leave and barred her from the organization’s property, along with Ruhani, “as a result of information received.” In March, the city asked Brooklyn Defender Services to take over Queens Defenders’ contract for criminal defense.
Tax filings show Zeno’s salary, at more than $430,000, was higher than that of the top-paid executive at any other major public defender organization in New York City in 2023. That same year, financial records show, the organization’s expenses exceeded its income by more than $415,000.
Tagged
public safety
queens
Samantha Max
Samantha reports on whether New Yorkers feel safe and whether the institutions that are supposed to protect them are working. Before coming to WNYC/Gothamist, she spent three years covering the criminal justice system in Tennessee for Nashville Public Radio. Her reporting on Nashville's police department received multiple awards, including the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize. Samantha was also part of the inaugural class of Report for America, a service journalism program that sends up-and-coming reporters to local newsrooms across the country. She is a Northwestern University grad, a Baltimore native and fluent in Spanish. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal: samanthamaxwnyc.93.
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