Weird Al Scam Stopped Short

A scam involving a bogus "Weird Al" Yankovic concert was halted mid-January after an Illinois club owner was tipped off by Pollstar.

Scott Hulmes, co-owner of LT’s Bar & Grill in Rockford, told the city’s Register Star he had booked a February 10th "Weird Al" concert with a man named Tom Bennett. Negotiations were via e-mail and cell phone, and Hulmes reportedly had an attorney look over the contract before signing it.

BMC Tickets owner Bob McNally, who helped broker the deal for Hulmes, told the paper he delivered a deposit check for $1,375 to Bennett at a Dunkin’ Donuts in Chicago. McNally described the encounter as uncomfortable and admitted there were "red flags" during negotiations.

"I’ve been around long enough to know the whole thing seemed weird to me," he told the paper.

The Register Star said the men were tipped off by a story on Pollstar.com detailing the ruse. Hulmes then called his bank and stopped payment on the check.

Paradise Artists’ Steve Schenck, Yankovic’s agent, said he heard about the latest scam attempt when Hulmes e-mailed him January 16th about the deal with Bennett.

"This is one more to add to the pile. I’m wondering how many we haven’t heard about," Schenck told Pollstar. "Not only do we not do clubs, it’s not for the kind of low fees that this guy is out there telling people they can get it for.

"Obviously in the real world, Al gets many, many, many multiples of that. There’s your first clue that something’s wrong."

So far the alleged imposter has offered to book "Weird Al" concerts for fees ranging from $3,000 to $7,500.

As previously reported in Pollstar, the alleged scam artist uses the names Tom Bennett or Tom Porter and supplies the same generic contract. "Tom Bennett Management" lists a Redding, Calif., address and "Tom Porter Management" uses an Anaheim, Calif., address. Contact numbers on both have Los Angeles area codes.