United States of America v. Daniel Damato

Oakland, California, criminal defense lawyers represented the Defendant charged with wire fraud in violaiton of 18 U.S.C. 1343.

Reported by Kent Morlan

Daniel Damato engaged in a wire fraud scheme in which he knowingly sold counterfeit sports memorabilia and attempted to obstruct the FBI’s investigation into his criminal conduct. United States District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín handed down the sentence.

Damato, 40, of Concord, California, was charged by Information on October 20, 2025, with one count of wire fraud. The Information alleged that between 2022 and 2024, Damato, a sports memorabilia dealer, doctored and gave false provenance to valuable items to make them appear as authentic and legitimate sports collectables. Damato then attempted to sell these items to unsuspecting buyers at heavily inflated prices.

The Information specifically described two sports memorabilia items Damato fraudulently marketed and sold—a baseball bat he represented was a 1954 game-used World Series bat and a jersey he asserted was a 1972 game-worn jersey. Damato claimed that the bat was used and the jersey was worn by Willie Mays, described as one of the greatest baseball players who ever lived, according to the Information

On December 8, 2025, Damato pled guilty to the wire fraud count charged in the Information. In connection with his plea, Damato admitted that despite his assertions to the contrary, the bat he sold for $100,000 to one victim had not been used in the 1954 World Series by Mays. Rather, Damato admitted that the bat was a “factory error” bat that was an inch shorter than what Mays used during his career. Damato further admitted that he sold other fraudulent items, including a jersey he falsely claimed was worn by Mays that he sold for $50,000 to a second victim. In addition, the Court found that Damato defrauded a third victim in connection with his sports memorabilia scheme, determining that Damato stole over $900,000 from that victim while falsely promising to deliver sports memorabilia.

In addition to his fraudulent conduct, Damato admitted in his plea agreement that after the FBI executed a search warrant on his residence, he contacted at least one potential witness in an attempt to obstruct the government’s investigation.

The Defendant was found guilty and was sentenced to 21 months in prison followed by a three-year period of supervised release and ordered restitution in the amount of $1,068,940.