• An unofficial Facebook page for Portsmouth, Ohio, alleged a man named Billy Lee Eldridge, 46, was wanted on suspicion of fraud and criminal possession.
  • The post went viral on Thursday, being reshared nearly 2,000 times.
  • But Portsmouth Police Captain Debby Brewer told INSIDER that there are no warrants out for Eldridge and no court records about the incident.
  • Visit INSIDER’s homepage for more stories.

An unofficial Facebook page for Portsmouth, Ohio, said a man named Billy Lee Eldridge, 46, was wanted on suspicion of fraud and criminal possession for impersonating country star Travis Tritt, but police say it’s a hoax.

The Facebook page said Eldridge convinced the committee for the city’s River Days festival that he was Tritt, who released 11 albums from 1990 to 2007.

But Portsmouth Police Captain Debby Brewer told INSIDER that there are no warrants out for Eldridge and no court records about the incident. She said the post is fake.

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The Facebook page claimed Eldridge had accepted a payment of $2,250 for the River Days festival, which takes place in August and September, before trying the scheme again for the Scioto County Fair.

But when Scioto County Fair organizers asked Eldridge to sing Tritt's song "Here's a Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares)," he "panicked and fled," the Facebook post alleged.

Brewer said she has received calls in the past about the Portsmouth page posting hoax news stories.

The Facebook page and Tritt did not immediately respond to INSIDER's request for comment.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include comment from Portsmouth, Ohio, police saying the Facebook post is fake and there is no warrant out for Billy Lee Eldridge's arrest.