NHS surgeon jailed over fraud and extreme images

A WELSH NHS surgeon has been jailed for 32 months after admitting fraud relating to the amputation of his own legs and possessing extreme pornography of genital mutilation.

- ELLIE GOSLEY, ROD MINCHIN and CLAIRE HAYHURST

Neil Hopper, a vascular surgeon from Aberystwyth, pleaded guilty to two charges of fraud by false representation relating to claims totalling £466,653.81 made to two insurance companies that his legs had been amputated due to illness rather than self-inflicted injury.

The 49-year-old also admitted three charges of possessing extreme pornographic images, relating to videos by a website called the Eunuch-Maker run by Marius Gustavson, which depicted genital mutilation.

Patients of the former surgeon say they are now concerned they may have unnecessarily undergone life-changing surgery.

Hopper, of St Erme, Truro, Cornwall, entered guilty pleas to the five charges against him at Truro Crown Court yesterday.

Judge James Adkin, the honorary recorder of Truro, jailed him for 22 months for the fraud charges and a further 10 months for the extreme images charges.

The judge said: “In April 2019 you deliberately froze your lower legs causing direct damage following instructions given by Mr Gustavson. You were in hospital for six weeks and after many tests and a variety of treatments the medics decided your feet could not be saved and they amputated on May 17.

“You subsequently made fraudulent insurance claims to Aviva and Old Mutual Wealth, receiving a total of £466,653.81 fraudulently by representing that the injuries were organic, caused by sepsis, when you caused the injury seemingly at least in part for sexual gratification”

The charges state that Hopper dishonestly made a false representation to Aviva and Old Mutual Health that his “legs had been amputated because of illness rather than self-inflicted injury’

Hopper was identified following investigations into Gustavson, who led an extreme body modification ring which carried out male castration, penis removal and other procedures on people as young as 16.