Former District Employee Sentenced for Extorting Money from Low-Income Individuals to Process Assistance Application
WASHINGTON (April 25, 2025) – Ruth Nivar, 57, a former D.C. Department of Human Services employee, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 24 months in federal prison for extorting money from low-income individuals to process applications for public assistance programs, even though it was part of her job responsibilities to do that work free of charge.
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr., FBI Special Agent in Charge Sean T. Ryan of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, and the District of Columbia Inspector General Daniel W. Lucas.
Nivar pleaded guilty on Jan. 13, 2025, to one count of Hobbs Act extortion under color of official right and to one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act extortion under color of official right. In addition to the 24-month prison term, Chief Judge James E. Boasberg ordered Nivar to serve 12 months of supervised release.
According to court documents, beginning at least since 2018 and continuing through May 2023, Nivar used the authority of her public office to obtain money from public assistance applicants to which she was not entitled. Nivar preyed on impoverished, largely non-English speaking individuals who lacked the resources to navigate what can be the complicated process of obtaining health care coverage from the government. In 2022, after Nivar understood that law enforcement may have become aware of her scheme, she added an accomplice, a civilian who did not work for the D.C. government, to assist in the extortion scheme.
Because Nivar worked on public assistance programs for the D.C. government, Nivar was able to provide information to her accomplice about eligibility requirements for applicants – including certain documents that needed to be submitted with applications – as well as information about applicants from the internal DHS database, including historical benefits information, status of benefits, identity verification, and dependent information. The accomplice then created online accounts and submitted application materials for health care coverage on behalf of the individuals they extorted. Nivar told individuals to pay her accomplice, who would then split the monies evenly with Nivar, even though it was Nivar’s duty to provide all these services for the community free of charge.
The accomplice, Yessica Moya, pleaded guilty in the same case on Jan. 8, 2025, to one count of aiding and abetting Hobbs Act extortion under color of official right and to one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act extortion under color of official right. Her sentencing hearing is pending.
This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office and D.C. Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Madhu Chugh and Will Hart of the Fraud, Public Corruption, and Civil Rights Section.
