The alleged scam enabled Schoen LaBombard to enjoy free meals, a free hotel room and a $500 loan.
It was only after LaBombard broke his leg while frolicking with his new friends that the scam was uncovered by hotel employees.
The folks in Daytona Beach knew him as Alex Seppi, but while he was in the hospital, employees entered his hotel room to secure personal items on his behalf and found an identification with his real name.
There was apparently another person assisting LaBombard in the alleged scam. At one point, a manager spoke with a person who identified himself as Seppi's Navy Seal commander.
At this point, LaBombard is not facing charges in Daytona Beach, but he is in custody on a warrant out of New York (the jurisdiction is not specified in this WESH story).
For the 1994-era scam in Batavia, LaBombard was required to pay restitution. According to news reports in 2004, he paid about $7,000, but there was still $20,000 outstanding. It's unclear if he ever completed payments.
In that case, LaBombard represented himself as a promising bobsled driver with Olympic dreams and convinced local business owners to donate money to help him pursue his dream. It turned out, he was not on the Olympic bobsled team, though he was a member of the federation.
His criminal history includes stints in prison for forgery and grand larceny, with convictions in Essex County and Albany County.
In Albany, he was once accused of impersonating a police officer to scam a prostitute out of money. According to another news report on that arrest (no link available), he was also accused of stealing more than $8,000 from business partners in the Albany area. He also accused of burglarizing his grandmother's house and stealing checks.
In 2012, the Albany Times Union ran a laudatory story about LaBombard about how he was turning his life around, getting off drugs, and leading a casting call for a reality TV series called "The Comebacks."
Hollywood should do a remake
Hollywood should do a remake of the Great Imposter starring this individual. What a con man.
Turn him over to the SEALS,
Turn him over to the SEALS, they have their own brand of justice for posers
You read my mind Dave.
You read my mind Dave.
Raymond, I got to know a few
Raymond, I got to know a few SEALs during my Navy days and woe to the squid that claimed to be a SEAL but wasn't. They did not find the humor in that to say the least. They are a special breed for sure. It was much safer to tell girls in bars that you were a fighter pilot. LOL Not that I or any of my buddies would ever have done such a thing.