A bizarre and widely circulated story claiming an Illinois man was arrested for impersonating rock legend Sammy Hagar has been officially debunked as a hoax by law enforcement. Police in Mount Vernon, Illinois, the town where the alleged arrest took place, have confirmed that the incident never happened.
The story, which was picked up by several media outlets earlier this week, has been a source of amusement on social media. However, Mount Vernon police officials told AXS TV on Wednesday that they “have no record of an arrest matching that description” and “have no such person in custody.” Media outlets that had originally reported the story have since issued corrections, with AXS TV noting: “It appears this story may be an internet hoax that was run with by several major media outlets… and if so they fooled us as well.”
The “report”, which originated from an Illinois TV station, alleged that a 58-year-old man named Ronnie Putnam was arrested on fraud and disorderly conduct charges on October 18. The story claimed he had visited several businesses, including a vape shop and two banks, attempting to open accounts under the name “Sammy Hagar Enterprises, LLC.”
What made the story go viral were its colorful and comedic details. The original article claimed Putnam attempted to prove his identity by performing an a cappella version of Hagar‘s 1984 hit “I Can’t Drive 55.” A bank teller was quoted as saying: “He said he was on tour but needed to cash a royalty check. He was wearing red sunglasses and smelled faintly of margarita mix, so I thought it was actually him.” The report concluded by stating Putnam presented a homemade ID card that read “Sammy Hagar, Rock God” and shouted, “I can’t drive to jail!” upon his arrest.
The hoax spread so far that it reached the real Sammy Hagar, who was in Mexico at the time. The 78-year-old rocker posted a humorous and skeptical response on his X (formerly Twitter) account.
“Who knows with AI these days if this is real or not, but every person I know has sent it to me, and anyone that would fall for this guy saying he’s the Red Rocker probably couldn’t name one of my songs,” Hagar wrote.
While the story of “Ronnie Putnam” was unfolding online, the real Sammy Hagar was in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, concluding his 35th annual Birthday Bash concert series at his Cabo Wabo Cantina.
Who knows with AI these days if this is real or not, but every person I know has sent it to me, and anyone that would fall for this guy saying he's the Red Rocker probably couldn't name one of my songs. 😳 #HappyHalloween #Impersonator #Ouch pic.twitter.com/0lJY0DSi1B
— Sammy Hagar (@sammyhagar) October 23, 2025
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