Howard, an eight-time NBA All-Star who won a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020 and is currently appearing as a contestant on "Dancing With the Stars," took the stand for a day of sometimes-tense testimony in the fraud trial of Calvin Darden Jr.
Howard said his former agent, Charles Briscoe, introduced him to Darden in about 2020, but that he didn't know Darden wanted to "scam me."
Darden, who pled guilty in a separate fraud case nearly a decade ago, is accused of joining in a conspiracy to trick Howard into sending the money, only to spend it on his own lavish lifestyle, including a $3.7 million Atlanta home fitted out with a koi pond, art and a Rolls-Royce.
"I wanted to purchase a WNBA team," Howard told the jury, referring to the Atlanta Dream, which was reportedly up for sale around 2020.
"Did you get anything for your $7 million?" asked prosecutor Kevin Mead from the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office.
"I got a slap in the face," said the Atlanta native — a response that drew an objection from Darden's defense team.
Darden is the son of noted corporate executive Calvin Darden. In the 2014 case, Darden Jr. admitted to impersonating his father in an attempt to secure $8 million in bank financing for an acquisition of Maxim magazine.
In the current trial before U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, the parties have been careful to distinguish between the two because Darden Jr. again allegedly invoked his father's name and likeness as part of the purported fraud.
"I felt like he was the head guy," Howard said of Darden Sr. in 2020. "I'm thinking that they're both legit businessmen, especially Calvin Sr."
Darden Jr. allegedly peddled fake documents invoking his famous father as well as other noted figures in the Black community as he sought to raise money via an entity called the Darden Sports Group.
"I'm like, man, this is gold. This is it," Howard said of being shown an allegedly fake PowerPoint.
Howard said there were "pretty heavy hitters" listed, including NFL quarterback Lamar Jackson, Hollywood mogul Tyler Perry and actress Issa Rae, who appeared in the blockbuster "Barbie." In brief testimony on Wednesday, Rae told the jury she has never met Darden Jr. and never gave him permission to use her name.
Also charged in the case, in a separate alleged fraud scheme, is former Morgan Stanley adviser Darryl Cohen. Cohen is set to stand trial next year.
Both Darden Jr. and Cohen allegedly worked with Briscoe, who pled guilty and was spared prison earlier this year by Judge Broderick.
Howard told the jury he fired Briscoe after the alleged $7 million fraud.
"He wasn't really doing his job," Howard told the jury of Briscoe, adding that he has not gotten his money back.
"Did you trust Calvin Darden Jr.?" asked Mead.
"I did," Howard responded, saying he didn't think Briscoe would introduce him to "somebody that would scam me."
"I love the Dream," said Howard. "I love women's basketball."
During afternoon cross-examination, Howard was asked by defense lawyer Xavier Donaldson whether it was he who, in fact, had initiated contact with the defendant in his effort to buy the Dream.
"I didn't bring [Darden Jr.] in. Charles [Briscoe] brought him to me," Howard told the jury.
The former Laker conceded that he had reached out to former Coca-Cola executive John Brock, whose wife had had a partial ownership stake, to discuss a possible purchase of the Dream. At some point in the process, Howard said, he learned he would not be eligible to buy the team himself because of his NBA affiliation.
That, according to Howard, is when he elected to go through Briscoe, his former agent.
The defense emphasized to the jury that most of the conversations Howard had related to his effort to purchase the team were with Briscoe, not Darden Jr.
"All my information came from Charles," Howard said.
"It's fair to say that Mr. Briscoe is a liar, correct?" asked Donaldson.
"Now I can say he lied about a lot of stuff looking back on it," Howard said. But back in 2020, "I didn't think he would be someone who would tell a lie," Howard said.
After transferring $7 million to what he thought was a Darden-controlled ownership group, Howard told the jury that he learned he had not in fact purchased the team while watching ESPN's ticker on television in 2021.
"I was about to jump off a cliff — no, just kidding," Howard said. "I was really upset. There was a lot of anger. I was hurt. I told [Briscoe] if I don't get my money back, I'm gonna come get you."
Late in the trial day, as Howard's cross-examination wound to a close, there were tense moments as the witness apparently thought the defendant was attempting to say something to him from the defense table.
"I wasn't talking to you, sir," Howard said directly to Darden Jr., staring him down and nodding. Asked about the comment by the judge, Howard said, "He just looked at me and said something."
A few minutes later, Howard looked at the defense table again.
"You got a problem too, sir?" Howard said, pointing at co-counsel Anthony Ricco. At that point, Judge Broderick stood up, asked for calm and issued a caution.
"I don't know what's going on, smiling, whatever it is," the judge said. "Mr. Darden, just keep it straight. No facial expressions between the lawyers."
Security was called to the courtroom, but the rest of the trial day played out without incident.
Darden is represented by Xavier Donaldson, and Anthony Ricco of the Law Office of Anthony L. Ricco.
The government is represented by Kevin Mead, William Kinder and Brandon Thompson of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.
The case is U.S. v. Cohen et al., case number 1:23-cr-00134, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
--Editing by Daniel King.
Update: This story has been updated with additional trial testimony and courtroom color.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
