A man who claims on his website to be the great-nephew of the late Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe is in his own case of “Say it ain't so, Joe,” as he has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and embezzling $750,000 from a Bulgarian-based charity.

Robin DiMaggio is a drummer and percussionist who has been a musical director for the United Nations and for “The Arsenio Hall Show” when it rebooted in 2013. He has performed with stars such as David Bowie, Jackson Browne, and Paul Simon. But in 2016, he got himself into a snare and he is now waiting to be sentenced for his crime.

Charity for Children

The Bulgarian-based nonprofit Peace For You Peace For Me went into an agreement with DiMaggio while they were organizing a charity concert to raise money for homeless or displaced children in war zones. DiMaggio told the nonprofit that he would arrange for artists to perform at the concert, which was to take place in October 2016. The nonprofit then wired DiMaggio $750,000, which he was to put into an escrow account to pay as deposits to the artists to perform.

Wire Fraud

Instead, the $750,000 went into an account DiMaggio controlled but was not an escrow account. He then used the money to spend on himself and his family members. Shortly after he received the money, he used over $250,000 to buy a house for his ex-wife, he made car payments for family members, and he spent some on his own credit card debt.

The day after he received the wire transfer of money, he emailed the organizers of the concert and told them that he and a group of other artists thought the concert should be postponed to December 2016, which would have been at the beginning of a Bulgarian winter. That triggered the nonprofit to ask for him to return the $750,000, but DiMaggio claimed he had already paid it out as deposits to artists. The nonprofit filed a lawsuit against him in December 2016, and nine months later DiMaggio filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

During the bankruptcy proceedings, DiMaggio lied and said he had not given any payments or gifts over $600 to anyone in the last two years. The nonprofit was eventually awarded $1.2 million, and DiMaggio was arrested in December 2018.

On September 25, 2019, DiMaggio pleaded guilty to wire fraud and he will be sentenced in March 2020. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Sigal Law Group

If you are facing serious embezzlement or fraud charges, there is a good chance you could drum your way out of it by hiring a credible, expert defense team. Sigal Law Group will listen to your case and mount a credible defense to preserve your rights and freedoms. Don't wait— contact us today at 818-325-0570 or fill out a form to get started.