A drummer who once worked as a musical director for the Arsenio Hall Show was convicted of embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from a children’s charity three years ago.
Robin DiMaggio, 48, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud after admitting to funneling around $750,000 from a charity concert that was intended to benefit homeless children.
The money was supposed to pay artists and other expenses associated with the concert, NBC News reported last year. But instead of paying them, prosecutors say DiMaggio used the money to pay alimony to his former wife. He also used the money to buy a $24,000 car for his son and a $35,000 car for his mother, federal officials said in a release on Wednesday.
The sponsor of the foundation caught wind of DiMaggio’s tactics and filed a civil lawsuit against him in state court. DiMaggio filed for federal bankruptcy protection in 2017; in his filing, he falsely said he had not made alimony payments or given any gifts in excess of $600 in value, according to prosecutors.
DiMaggio is scheduled for setencing next March. He faces up to 20 years in prison, though he will probably get little to no prison time after agreeing to plea guilty and waive his right to a trial or appeal.
DoMaggio served as the musical director for the reboot of the “Arsenio Hall Show,” which aired in syndication mostly on stations formerly owned by Tribune Media. The show, which was green lit in 2013, was canceled in 2014 due to low ratings.
