A hip-hop journalist has pleaded guilty to making false statements to an FBI special agent in connection to an investigation involving someone she was dating.
According to court documents obtained by Complex, Kimberly Osorio, the former editor-in-chief of The Source, admitted last Thursday (Sept. 17) to lying about taking possession of a phone belonging to her boyfriend Rashad Ruhani last summer.
“On or about June 10th, I made a materially false statement to a federal agent when I denied taking possession of Rashad Ruhani's cell phone on June 10th, 2025,” she said during a hearing in Brooklyn federal court.
Ruhani and Lori Zeno, founder of Queens Defenders, were charged with wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy, and theft of funds for taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from the nonprofit organization for their own personal use, under the guise of “client defense.”
Prosecutors accused Osorio of helping Ruhani dispose of his phone, which was sought after by authorities as part of its investigation. In June 2025, Osorio and Ruhani took a flight together from Los Angeles to JFK Airport in New York City and parted ways upon their arrival.
Osorio told agents that she traveled alone, but a search of her phone revealed she looked up “wire fraud” and “federal fund misappropriation” while aboard the flight.
Osorio faces up to five years in prison as part of her plea deal, followed by a maximum of three years in supervised release. There is also the possibility of receiving no time behind bars.
Her sentencing is set for Dec. 28.
Osorio led The Source for several years in the early 2000s. After being fired in 2005, she filed a successful lawsuit against the magazine for sexual harassment, defamation, and gender discrimination, winning a verdict of $8 million.
She wrote a memoir about her time with the magazine, 2008’s Straight From The Source: An Exposé from the Former Editor in Chief of the Hip-Hop Bible.
