Pink Floyd rocker listed among patient's alleged aliases
ST. GEORGE – A man accused of getting out of paying Dixie Regional Medical Center for medical services by pretending to be two different 1970s-era rock musicians appeared Tuesday in 5th District Court under his real name to face two felony fraud charges.
Phillip Michael Schaeffer, 55, was arrested in Florida on a warrant issued by the court more than a year ago while Schaeffer was reportedly incarcerated in New Mexico's Sandoval County Detention Center, according to defense attorney Douglas Terry and court records.
Terry said he didn't have any information about the New Mexico situation but knows Schaeffer is working in Florida and is "a productive member of society," he said.
Schaeffer, a former Minnesota resident, is accused of posing as English Pink Floyd guitarist and singer David Gilmour and as Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson during hospital stays in St. George and St. Cloud, Minnesotta.
Information he provided to the court Tuesday indicates he now lives in Wilton Manors, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Terry said Schaeffer posted bail in Florida so he could travel to Southern Utah for his initial appearance Tuesday.
Judge Eric Ludlow recalled the arrest warrant and scheduled a roll call hearing for May 4 to ensure the defense has access to evidence in the case.
Ludlow excused Schaeffer from having to travel back to Utah for the roll call hearing but ordered him to remain in contact with Terry's office.
Deputy County Attorney Eric Gentry said Schaeffer also was placed under the supervision of a probation agency's pretrial services because of the difficulties the court has had getting Schaeffer to come back to Utah during the past year.
Schaeffer is charged with two counts of communications fraud stemming from visits to DRMC in 2011, 2012 and 2013 in which he allegedly first pretended to be the now-61-year-old Canadian, Lifeson, and then Gilmour, who is English and 69.
An investigative report filed with the court states a man claiming to be Lifeson incurred $23,328.27 in hospital bills shortly before Christmas in 2011 and left the hospital against medical advice after an overnight stay.
In November 2012 and February 2013, the same man allegedly returned for services, racking up more than $15,000 in bills and then more than $34,000 in bills under Gilmour's name, leaving after a night's stay each time against medical advice.
Last April, Schaeffer was arrested in St. Cloud after allegedly identifying himself as Gilmour and incurring a hospital bill "as high as $100,000," according to the St. Cloud Times, which like The Spectrum & Daily News is a Gannett Co. Inc. newspaper.
Schaeffer reportedly even signed an autograph for a hospital employee's son there.
Schaeffer was booked there April 24 and released from custody the next day pending formal charges of theft by swindle, according to the St. Cloud Times.
An investigator for Intermountain Healthcare learned of the Minnesota arrest through a newspaper article, and two DRMC employees subsequently identified Schaeffer as the same man who had obtained services in St. George under Gilmour's name, according to the court report.
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