Indictment Charges Former D.C. Department of Human Services Official and Co-Conspirator with Extortion

Tuesday, May 14, 2024

WASHINGTON – Ruth Nivar, 56, and Yessica Moya, 35, both of Washington, D.C., were arrested this morning on charges related to extortion and conspiracy. The charges, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., were announced today by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division, and Daniel W. Lucas, Inspector General of the District of Columbia. 

            According to the indictment, unsealed yesterday, Nivar, a former employee at the District of Columbia Department of Human Services, was charged with extorting payments from individuals applying for health care coverage from the D.C. government to process those benefits.  Starting at least as early as November 2022, Nivar introduced Moya as a co-conspirator into her extortion scheme in an apparent attempt to disguise Nivar’s receipt of payment and information from law enforcement.

            If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison for committing Hobbs Act extortion and five years in prison for conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act extortion.  The maximum statutory sentence for federal offenses is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes. The sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

            This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Office of the Inspector General of the District of Columbia. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Madhu Chugh, of the Fraud, Public Corruption, and Civil Rights Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

            An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.