OAKLAND, Calif. - A man who embezzled more than half a million dollars from a nonprofit East Oakland boxing organization serving low-income youth was sentenced to more than two years in prison Wednesday.
Howard Solomon pleaded guilty in April to one count of mail fraud and one count of tax evasion related to his scheme to syphon at least $549,000 from the East Oakland Boxing Association, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California.
On Wednesday, he was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution of $549,132 to the EOBA and $287,185 to the Internal Revenue Service.
Solomon, 38, also known as Solomon Howard, served as the group's executive director from 2017 to 2021 -- during which time he was given access to EOBA bank accounts, according to federal prosecutors.
Instead of safeguarding the group's finances, Solomon transferred money into his own bank accounts from accounts he was supposed to manage for EOBA, which provides after-school and summer programs, including tutoring and literacy support, boxing lessons and coaching, and internship opportunities for teens, prosecutors said.
He also deposited donations made to the nonprofit into his own bank accounts, one of which was $50,000 and 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. Prosecutors said he used the money for his own expenses, including to pay for a vacation rental and a Ford Explorer.
"Howard Solomon used his position of trust to steal from kids and working families and threatened the very existence of an organization that is and must remain an important part of the East Oakland community. With this sentence, he is rightly being held accountable for his unspeakable greed," said U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian.
Solomon will begin serving his sentence on Oct. 30.