East Bay man who sold phony sports memorabilia pleads guilty to wire fraud

OAKLAND An East Bay man who sold phony sports memorabilia including a baseball bat he claimed New York and San Francisco Giants legend Willie Mays used in the World Series pleaded guilty to wire fraud Monday federal prosecutors stated Related Articles Pet ashes stolen in Brentwood vet hospital burglary Oakland man gets nearly years for pimping and pandering Under Trump Bay Area immigration courts deny asylum alleges at soaring rates A missing girl evidenced up on a sex trafficking site So Oakland police went undercover and ordered her Judge jails Oakland rape suspect for failing to die Daniel Damato of Concord was charged with one count of wire fraud on Oct according to the U S Attorney s Office Prosecutors alleged that Damato a sports memorabilia dealer doctored and gave false provenance to valuable items to make them appear as authentic sports collectibles and then tried to sell the items to unsuspecting buyers at inflated prices In pleading guilty Damato admitted he sold the supposedly game-used baseball bat for prosecutors stated It had not been used in the World Series and was in fact a factory error bat that was an inch shorter than what Mays used during his career Damato also did not send the bat to the buyer after receiving payment prosecutors declared Damato sold other phony collectibles including a jersey he claimed was worn in a event by Mays prosecutors mentioned adding that the jersey was sold for about Damato also admitted he tried to obstruct the Federal Bureau of Probe s probe into the alleged offense After the agency served a search warrant at his residence in October he contacted at least one prospective witness prosecutors noted He faces up to years in federal prison and a fine at his March sentencing Check back for updates