Ex-CEO Of Hollywood Poverty Nonprofit Admits Embezzlement, Tax Fraud

HOLLYWOOD — The former president and CEO of a Hollywood-based anti-poverty nonprofit plead guilty Wednesday in federal court for embezzling money, intentionally misapplying more than $600,000 in grant money and lying on his tax returns.

Howard Slingerland, 53, of Studio City, agreed to plead guilty to charges of conversion and intentional misapplication of funds from an organization receiving federal money, and filing a false tax return, according to U.S. District Court for the Central District of California documents.

He entered his plea in court in Downtown Los Angeles Wednesday. He's due back in court on July 25 for sentencing. He faces up to 10 years in federal prison on the conversion count and three years in federal prison on the tax count, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

From 1996 until he was fired in September 2019, Slingerland was the president and CEO of Youth Policy Institute Inc., a Hollywood-based nonprofit agency that worked to eradicate poverty in some of the highest needs neighborhoods in Los Angeles with a comprehensive approach addressing education, youth development, safety, job training, and health and wellness, his plea agreement states.

In these roles, Slingerland had check-signing authority over the nonprofits's bank accounts and was the personal guarantor of its credit card.

From January 2015 to February 2019, Slingerland caused at least $71,533 of the nonprofit's funds to be spent on unauthorized expenditures, including his personal property tax bill that exceeded $14,000, more than $6,000 for a family dinner at a New York City restaurant, nearly $11,000 for a family member's tutoring and nearly $2,000 on a home computer and software, federal prosecutors said.

In July 2019, Slingerland caused about $401,561 in funds the organization had received from a federal grant to be used for the unauthorized payroll expenses. That same month, he also caused roughly $201,466 in federal grant money to be illegally used to pay off the organization's credit card bill, including for expenses Slingerland had incurred, according to court filings.

Slingerland further admitted that he underreported on his individual federal income tax returns more than $100,000 in income each year for the tax years 2015 through 2018 by not reporting money he obtained from his employer, including through the embezzlement. Slingerland admitted to owing the U.S. Treasury a total of about $147,398 in unpaid taxes — not including penalties and interest — for these years.

City News Service and Patch staffer Chris Lindahl contributed to this report.