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Police: Faux Elvis Burned Fans

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By VALERIE KALFRIN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 19, 2008

Updated: 02/18/2008 11:23 pm

TAMPA - Shelby Ewbank and Kathy Prince didn't have suspicious minds when Elvis tribute artist Frederick Denmark said his house had burned.

Ewbank, whose husband also is a tribute artist, and Prince said they helped organize a benefit for Denmark at American Legion Post 138 in September that raised more than $2,000 in cash, as well as clothes and household items.

There was just one problem: There hadn't been a fire, the women said they learned.

Following up on the women's detective work, Tampa police on Thursday charged Denmark, 47, of Fort Lauderdale with felony organized fraud and felony grand theft.

Denmark told police in a report released Monday that he made up the story about the fire for money.

"He said he made a bad decision and wants to pay it back if he can," Detective Curtis Smith said. "He even cried."

Jail records show Denmark, who performs under the name Fred Alberts, is free on $4,000 bail.

An attempt to reach him Monday was unsuccessful.

Ewbank and Prince, meanwhile, now consider a hound dog the man they once called "poor Fred."

"A lot of people are very disgusted," said Ewbank, 33, of Tampa. "We put a lot of time and effort into something we thought was a great thing."

"It's made me sick. It's made me sad," said Prince, 50, of Tampa. "I'm a nurse. I like to think I can help people. ... Do you know how many people out there really need help that could've benefited from something like that?"

A public records search shows Denmark was on probation or parole in Florida between 1996 and 2000 in Broward County but does not elaborate on the offense.

Public records show a federal tax lien for $12,922 in his name from 2005.

The women said they didn't know Denmark well but had seen him perform. Ewbank met him at an Elvis contest at Channelside in May, and Prince said he was one of the performers that another tribute artist brought to her birthday party in July.

In September, word began to spread among local Elvis impersonators that "Fred lost everything in a fire," Ewbank recalled.

The women and their friends rallied to the cause, drawing eight other tribute artists, including one performing as Johnny Cash, to a benefit. The Tampa Tribune ran an article previewing the event, where Denmark described finding his Fort Lauderdale house in ashes after a gig in Jacksonville.

"Everything you ever had in your lifetime is gone," Denmark said for the article.

After it appeared, Prince said she received an anonymous letter warning her that Denmark was a swindler. She also received an e-mail from a woman who claimed to be Denmark's ex-girlfriend. Police spoke to that woman, identified as Betty Williamson, and noted in the report that Williamson said Denmark had charged $25,000 worth of purchases on her credit card.

Reached by phone, Williamson said that amount was incorrect. There were purchases they intended to make together, but Denmark only charged $3,000 to her credit card, she said. He is repaying her, she said.

Before giving the letters to police, Prince shared them with Ewbank. "We were flabbergasted," Ewbank said.

The women said they wanted to substantiate what they could before going to police. They looked for property records in Denmark's name and any reports of a house fire in local newspapers and with Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue. They found nothing.

Prince, who had sent Denmark a $400 check separate from the benefit, also spoke to him by phone in October. "He gave me four addresses," she said. "He finally admitted to me there was no fire."

Smith said he also was unable to substantiate Denmark's story. When confronted, Denmark told Smith in the police report that "he made up the story to get money. He added that he didn't have any knowledge of the benefit until it was too late. It was a surprise."

Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at (813) 259-7800 or vkalfrin@tampatrib.com.

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