Man accused of embezzling $100,000 from Bay Area nonprofit that Stephen and Ayesha Curry donated to

By Leslie Brinkley

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    OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) — The man who headed up the nonprofit East Oakland Boxing Association was in federal court on Monday in Oakland.

Solomon Howard is facing four counts of tax evasion and one count of mail fraud including pocketing a charitable donation check from Golden Gate Warriors player Stephen Curry.

Howard was the executive director at the East Oakland Boxing Association from 2017 to 2021. The nonprofit mentors local youth which includes kick boxing and coaching.

The boxing association took the national spotlight in 2019 when a $50,000 donation from Stephen and Ayesha Curry was featured in a clip from The Ellen Degeneres Show, where Howard was front and center.

But court documents allege that Howard deposited the $50,000 donation check into a personal account without the knowledge of board members.

According to federal prosecutors, he “engaged in a scheme to embezzle money and property from EOBA.”

Documents claim he bought $100,000 of personal items on Amazon, including a queen bed delivered to his home, using the EOBA debit card

And prosecutors allege he embezzled funds to pay for two cars and a vacation rental property.

Howard pleaded not guilty on all counts and was ordered released under pre-trial supervision with $25,000 bond.

He and his attorney did not respond to requests to comment on the case and the interim director of the EOBA said they would release a statement in the coming days.

He could face up to 20 years in prison on just the fraud charge.

Howard has no previous criminal history and will be back in court on April 9.

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