A British vascular surgeon has been sentenced to 32 months in prison after admitting to self-amputating his legs for sexual gratification and then fraudulently claiming nearly £466,000 ($630,000) in insurance payouts.
Andrew Neil Hopper, 49, who worked at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, pleaded guilty at Truro Crown Court to two counts of fraud by false representation and three counts of possessing extreme pornographic images, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Thursday.
According to prosecutors, Hopper deliberately packed his legs in ice and dry ice to cause severe frostbite, later claiming to insurers that his injuries were the result of sepsis. He went on to collect two payouts – £235,622 ($318,000) from Aviva and £231,031 ($312,000) from Old Mutual Wealth – without disclosing that the injuries were self-inflicted.
Investigators also revealed that Hopper was a paying subscriber to a now-defunct website hosting videos of amputations and extreme body modifications. “Hopper has a sexual fetish linked to amputation and paid to access these images for his own gratification,” said Senior Crown Prosecutor, Richard Parkhouse.
Court documents show Hopper purchased 44 pounds of dry ice pellets just three days before paramedics discovered him at his home in April 2019 with severe injuries that ultimately led to his double leg amputation.
“In communications with the website’s owner, Hopper admitted the truth about his injuries,” Parkhouse said. “However, he failed to disclose this when making insurance claims and fraudulently pocketed almost half a million pounds”.
Hopper was remanded into custody immediately after sentencing.
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