OAKLAND — He was charged with two high crimes: not just embezzling $150,000 from the nonprofit he directed, but pocketing a $50,000 donation from the Bay Area’s premier power couple.
But now Howard Solomon is set to come to court and take responsibility for it, according to court records. This week, he is scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers and plead guilty to a federal offense, court filings say.
Solomon was charged in late February with tax evasion and mail fraud. The charging records allege that he misappropriated more than $150,000 from the East Oakland Boxing club while serving as its executive director.
The alleged embezzlement including a $50,000 check from Steph and Ayesha Curry, facilitated by the Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2019, according to the charging documents. He spent money on personal items bought via Amazon, a 2017 Ford Explorer, which he traded in to a dealership in 2021 and received a $24,000 credit on a brand new Cadillac Escalade, prosecutors alleged.
Solomon also is accused of filing false tax returns from 2018 to 2021 — the year he left the nonprofit — to hide the embezzled money.
Details of Solomon’s guilty plea — exactly what he will admit to and what sentence prosecutors will seek — have not yet been revealed. Solomon has been out of custody since the charges were filed, and will almost surely remain free until at least after he’s sentenced.
Staff writer Jakob Rodgers contributed reporting