Last Thursday (Sept. 17), Kim Osorio, the former editor in cheif of the influential Hip-Hop magazine The Source, pleaded guilty to giving false information regarding hiding the phone of Rashad Ruhani. Mr. Ruhani was convicted of helping the founder of the Queens Defenders, Lori Zeno, embezzle hundreds of thousands of dollars from the organization.
Osorio and Ruhani had been romantically involved since April 2025, according to prosecutors. The couple was traveling from Los Angeles to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City in June, while Ruhani was under federal investigation. Upon landing, agents sought to seize Ruhani’s phone.
Prosecutors contended that Osorio helped Ruhani hide his phone, pointing to searches on her phone she made during the flight which included “wire fraud” and federal fund misappropriation.” They sat next to each other on the flight, but went their separate ways as they landed. When confronted by the agents, Osorio denied traveling with anyone else.
The 52-year-old Osorio, who has recently worked in reality television and documentaries, began her career at The Source in 1998 as a freelance writer, rising up to take the helm as the magazine’s first female EIC in 2002. She would be fired three years later, for what she stated was retaliation for reporting sexual harassment by the owner. Osorio would go on to sue for wrongful termination, gender discrimination and sexual harassment in federal court, winning an $8 million judgement in 2006.
Recently, Osorio has a sit down with former and alleged The Source owner Ray Benzino.
There isn’t any clarity on how Osorio and Ruhani first met, as Ruhani had served a 25-year prison sentence for robbery. Under the guidelines for her guilty plea, Osorio could be sentenced to a year in prison or receive probation. When contacted, Osorio’s attorney Paul P. Martin issued a statement saying that Osorio “deeply regrets the choices that led to today.”
Ruhani and Zeno were convicted in federal court in Brooklyn in February for embezzling $300,000 from the organization, money which was to be used for the legal defense of poor clients. That money was used for various things such as teeth whitening, repairs to a Mercedes-Benz and a vacation to Bali.
The Queens Defenders urged the court to prosecute the pair. Ruhani was also purported to be married to Zeno – a marriage which had no legal standing, according to prosecutors, as he was also married to a woman from Saudi Arabia who was on the payroll of the Queens Defenders but did not work for the group.
