A man who took over a half-million dollars from an East Oakland nonprofit serving low-income youth pleaded guilty to mail fraud and tax evasion, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
Howard Solomon, also known as Solomon Howard, 38, served as executive director for the East Oakland Boxing Association, which provided activities for underserved youth such as internships, mentoring and after-school boxing lessons, prosecutors said.
According to his plea, Solomon admitted to a multi-year fraud scheme in which he embezzled at least $549,000 from the nonprofit.
Solomon was given access to the boxing nonprofit’s bank accounts and he transferred money out them and into his own accounts. He also deposited donations made to the nonprofit into his own bank accounts, one of which totaled $50,000 and was connected to a December 2019 appearance by Golden State Warrior player Stephen Curry and his wife Ayesha on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, where the check for the EOBA was presented.
“Solomon acknowledged that he took these actions without informing or seeking authority from EOBA board members or any other person affiliated with EOBA,” prosecutors said.
Solomon used the embezzled funds and donations to pay for personal expenses that had no connection to his job, including vacations, a Ford Explorer, and Amazon purchases for personal use.
Solomon also admitted to tax evasion by failing to disclose the money he embezzled from EOBA as income and misstating expenses associated with two alleged businesses that Solomon claimed lost money on his tax filings for the years 2017 through 2021, prosecutors said.
In total, Solomon caused a tax loss to the IRS of approximately $287,185.
Solomon’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Aug. 14. He is facing a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or twice the gain of the fraud, and restitution of at least $549,132 to the East Oakland Boxing Association.
The post Ex-exec director of East Oakland boxing nonprofit pleads guilty to fraud, tax evasion appeared first on Local News Matters.