Peter Stead was charged with five fraud offences – three in Derby, one in Nottinghamshire and one in Northamptonshire.
He pleaded guilty at Derby Crown Court last week and was remanded into custody ahead of his sentencing on 21 June.
Derbyshire police launched an investigation in 2009 after several licensees in Derby reported that a man had tricked them out of money by pretending to be Danny Kay – the brother of comedian Peter Kay.
He offered to put on comedy nights to raise money for the Derby-based Lewis Mighty Fund.
Stead, of no fixed abode, was given cash by the publicans to secure the booking but failed to perform.
Officers had been searching countywide for Stead since 2009 and recently arrested him in Derby.