Entertainment

Ex-Producer for Houston, Kenny G Sentenced in Ponzi Case

Published

11 years ago

May 14, 2015

Producer Charles Huggins swindled investors out of millions through a diamond and gold mining scheme. (Swamibu/Wikipedia/CC BY 2.0)

Tom Hays, ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK (AP) — A former music producer who helped launch acts like Kenny G and Whitney Houston was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years behind bars for duping investors out of millions by claiming he had ties to West African diamond mines.

Prosecutors in federal court in Manhattan had sought more than two decades in prison for Charles Huggins in a scheme to steal more than $8 million from investors. They portrayed the 69-year-old defendant as a remorseless con man.

Huggins diverted investor money to one of his record labels and used it to pay for his $7,200-a-month Manhattan apartment, upkeep on a Mercedes Benz, restaurant tabs and clothes from expensive boutiques, according to court papers.

Huggins, of Edgewater, New Jersey, “acted out of pure greed, out of a desire to spend other people’s hard-earned money on himself,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Imperatore.

The defense argued that the loss was really about $2.3 million, and that Huggins deserved no more than six years in prison.

U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein agreed that evidence at Huggins’ 2014 trial exposed how he had done grievous harm to honest investors. But he called the government’s request for a sentence between 22 and 27 years excessive and instead imposed the 10-year term.

The judge had received several defense submissions supporting Huggins, including a video from his ex-wife, soul singer Melba Moore. Asked on Wednesday if he wanted to speak for himself, Huggins stood briefly and responded, “Your honor, at this time I have nothing to say.”

Huggins once managed Hush Productions and Orpheus Inc. in New York and worked with Houston and Kenny G early in their careers. When his music ventures hit hard times, he cooked up a scheme to convince dozens of investors across the United States that they would profit by letting him invest their savings in gold or diamonds mined in West Africa.

At his trial, one investor testified that she and her family invested $1.6 million after seeing his lavish apartment and meeting him at a hotel, where he described a personal relationship with the president of Liberia and showed her diamonds. Ex-NFL player Ken Hamlin also testified about being among the victims.

Besides funding his luxury lifestyle, a portion of the proceeds also “was used to make payments to other investors, as in a classic Ponzi scheme,” court papers said.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Reporter II

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Oakland Post: Week of September 30 – October 6, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of September 30 – October 6, 2026

Published

4 days ago

October 4, 2026

Oakland Post

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Business

From Historic Memories to New Possibilities: Oakland Celebrates Coliseum 60

More than 75 people gathered at Youth UpRising in East Oakland on Friday, September 18, for Coliseum 60, an event marking six decades of sports, entertainment, employment, and community memories at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Complex. Held 60 years to the day after the Coliseum first opened, the celebration featured cultural performances and a mini-documentary highlighting its history. Speakers reflected on the venue’s significant role in the community and its future possibilities. Read more to learn about the individuals and stories honored during this special event.

Published

2 weeks ago

September 27, 2026

Post News Group

Quixote Atkins of VillageGIVE moderates a panel discussion at the Coliseum 60 celebration at Youth UpRising featuring Keith Brown, a member of IATSE Local 107; author, historian and former Black Panther Party member Tareka Lewis; and African American Sports and Entertainment Group President Ray Bobbitt.

By Carla Thomas

More than 75 people gathered at Youth UpRising in East Oakland on Friday, Sept. 18, for Coliseum 60, a celebration honoring six decades of sports, entertainment, employment and community memories connected to the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Complex.

Held 60 years to the day after the Coliseum opened, the event carried the theme, “One Community. One Legacy. One Future. Forward Together.”

The celebration opened with the national anthem performed by sisters Anese Jade, Amina Benjamin and Zaza Benjamin. Diamano Coura West African Dance Company contributed African dance and drumming, bringing movement, rhythm and cultural expression to the program.

A mini documentary highlighted the Coliseum’s sports history and its broader role as an entertainment destination. Archival material recalled performances by Prince and Tina Turner, along with memorable games featuring the Warriors, Oakland A’s and Raiders.

“The Coliseum 60 is about much more than celebrating a building or looking back at 60 years of history,” said event organizer Quixote Atkins of VillageGIVE.

“It’s about the people who made that history possible: the families, workers, athletes, artists, community leaders, fans and generations who gathered there and created memories together.”

A panel exploring that history featured author, historian and former Black Panther Party member Tareka Lewis; stagehand and union representative Keith Brown; and Ray Bobbitt, president of the African American Sports and Entertainment Group AASEG. Lewis described her family as fourth-generation Bay Area pioneers.

“My family and Black families who arrived even earlier helped build the Bay Area, grew businesses and established culture here,” Lewis said. “This should be taught in the public schools.”

Lewis recalled Oakland’s influence on sports, music and literature, from the Raiders’ beginnings at Laney College to stars such as The Pointer Sisters and Rickey Henderson who attended Oakland public schools. She also advocated for school museums, historical timelines, entrepreneurship training and investments benefiting corridors such as Bancroft Avenue and High Street.

Keith Brown, a member of Local 107 of the International Alliance of Theater and Stage Employees (IATSE) who began working at the Coliseum in 2011, remembered the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the Ice Capades, baseball bat giveaways and Nelson Mandela’s 1990 appearance.

“The special events are amazing, but it’s the workers that make the memories real for everyone,” Brown said. “They make the magic happen at the Coliseum.”

The program recognized longtime workers, including beer-stand manager Robert Preston, who served for 40 years, and Kenyatta Gentry, who worked as a vendor for 24 years and used her earnings to purchase her first apartment. Union workers Jose Gonzales and Carmen Sandoval were also honored. Speakers emphasized that Coliseum employment provided generations of residents with union wages and benefits.

Dr. Denise Saddler, the superintendent of the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) was also honored. Saddler shared her family’s history of working at the Coliseum.

District 7 Oakland City Councilmember Ken Houston discussed the complex ownership arrangements involving the city, county and private interests.

“This was the most complex deal of its kind in the country,” Houston said.

Prior to moving from the East Coast, Alameda County Supervisor and Coliseum Joint Powers Authority Chair Nate Miley recalled learning about Oakland through its three professional sports teams. As an elected official and public servant, Miley fought hard to keep the Golden State Warriors, Oakland As, and the Raiders, but he is hopeful for the future.

“The story is not over for the Coliseum,” Miley said. “We’re entering a new chapter.”

Bobbitt said the departure of three teams had once seemed unimaginable, but he maintained that Oakland’s future remains bright.

“Oakland is a cultural superpower worldwide,” Bobbitt said. “We’re going to write the future where we participate and drive the redevelopment.”

Bobbitt highlighted AASEG’s four-year partnership with Castlemont High School’s architecture program, which engages students in reimagining and creating redevelopment concepts for the Coliseum property. “The youth will always move us forward. They are the future.”

In closing, Atkins said, “September 18 is the celebration, but what we build together afterward is the legacy.”