OAKLAND — An East Bay man who offered phony sports activities memorabilia, together with a baseball bat he claimed New York and San Francisco Giants legend Willie Mays used within the 1954 World Sequence, pleaded responsible to wire fraud Monday, federal prosecutors stated.
Daniel Damato, 42, of Harmony, was charged with one depend of wire fraud on Oct. 20, in accordance with the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace.
Prosecutors alleged that Damato, a sports activities memorabilia seller, doctored and gave false provenance to priceless gadgets to make them seem as genuine sports activities collectibles, after which tried to promote the gadgets to unsuspecting patrons at inflated costs.
In pleading responsible, Damato admitted he offered the supposedly game-used baseball bat for $100,000, prosecutors stated. It had not been used within the World Sequence and was, in reality, a “factory error” bat that was an inch shorter than what Mays used throughout his profession.
Damato additionally didn’t ship the bat to the customer after receiving cost, prosecutors stated.
Damato offered different phony collectibles, together with a jersey he claimed was worn in a recreation by Mays, prosecutors stated, including that the jersey was offered for about $50,000.
Damato additionally admitted he tried to impede the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s probe into the alleged offense. After the company served a search warrant at his residence in October 2024, he contacted at the very least one potential witness, prosecutors stated.
He faces as much as 20 years in federal jail and a $250,000 advantageous at his March 23 sentencing.
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