Minnesota man, Phillip Michael Schaeffer, poses as Pink Floyd guitarist, David Gilmour to swindle hospital
A 53-year-old Minnesota man was arrested for swindling $100,000 of medical care from a St. Cloud Hospital by claiming he was legendary Pink Floyd guitarist, David Gilmour, according to a sctimes.com report yesterday.
Phillip Michael Schaeffer of Monticello, MN, checked into the hospital on April 20 and gave his name as David Gilmour. He said he didn’t have any insurance, but he was treated and released.
Although one hospital employee believed Schaeffer was the real-deal and got his autograph, other hospital employees had suspicions that he wasn’t really the Pink Floyd singer-guitarist. That suspicion led to the hospital flagging his patient chart in case he returned, hospital spokeswoman Jeanine Nistler said.
Hospital security brought up security shots of the Gilmour impersonator and compared to a pic online and figured out that Schaeffer was not the 67-year-old musician.
Schaeffer actually came back to the hospital April 24,again insisting he was the rock legend and presented papers demonstrating he had health insurance with Lloyd’s of London, the famed niche insurance company, which insured Bruce Springsteen’s vocal cords and Jimmy Durante’s nose.
He told hospital staff that Pink Floyd was on tour in Canada and that he stopped in St. Cloud during a break to get medical treatment.
He was seen by an ER doctor there; however, a hospital security supervisor found a police officer at the hospital on different business and alerted the officer to the Floyd frontman impersonator.
When confronted by the St. Cloud police officer, Schaeffer admitted he wasn’t Gilmour and was taken to jail. He was booked April 24 at the Stearns County Jail for investigation of felony theft by swindle.
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