NHS vascular surgeon Neil Hopper has been jailed for 32 months after admitting fraud relating to deliberately amputating his own legs for insurance payouts.
The 49-year-old from St Erme, Truro, pleaded guilty to charges relating to claims totalling £466,653.81 that his legs were amputated due to illness rather than self-inflicted injury.
Judge James Adkin sentenced Hopper to 22 months for fraud and a further ten months for possessing extreme pornographic images at Truro Crown Court on Thursday. The images were from the EunuchMaker website run by Marius Gustavson, which depicted genital mutilation.
Judge James Adkin said: "In April 2019 you deliberately froze your lower legs causing direct damage using dry ice following instructions given by Mr Gustavson.
“You were admitted to hospital when you have the symptoms of sepsis well knowing what the medics will be looking out.
“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 £466,000 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. The Norwegian national was jailed for life with a minimum term of 22 years at the Old Bailey last year.
Prosecutor Nicholas Lee said Hopper had purchased three videos from the website for £10 and £35, showing men having their genitals removed. The surgeon also exchanged thousands of messages with Gustavson about his own lower leg amputations and how he had done it, including asking how much dry ice he used.
“It is evident from the messages that Mr Hopper wished to become an amputee and it was always something he had dreamt of,” Lee said.
“Something he has been obsessed with and had a sexual interest in becoming an amputee.”
The court heard Hopper’s wife and children were away from their home in St Erme when he immersed his feet in dry ice on April 15, 2019.
While doing this he continued to message Gustavson, telling him: “It’s going to be awesome being a double amputee.” He then sent Gustavson a picture of his erect penis.
After the amputation, Hopper took a photo of his bandaged feet and sent it to Gustavson with the message: "It feels so cool. No feet!" He also thanked Gustavson for his help and described how "sexy" he looked now he had no feet.
After receiving the insurance compensation, Hopper spent the money on "luxury" items, according to prosecutor Lee. He spent £255,000 on building works at his home, had a £15,000 hot tub installed and spent £6,000 with a wood burner company.
Hopper also bought a £22,000 campervan, spent £13,000 on prosthetics and gave £52,000 to his wife. He also claimed £44,000 from the Department for Work and Pensions.
Lee said: “In his words he wanted to ‘milk’ the injuries for as much as possible.
“He was clearly motivated by personal gain and the spending of the money on luxury items such as the hot tub and the home improvements.”
Hopper has not worked at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust since March 2023.
Andrew Langdon KC, defending, said Hopper had felt he was "in the wrong body" from a young age and "was troubled by his gender, he wanted to be female".
He added that Hopper identified with body integrity identity disorder.
Quoting Hopper, the barrister said: “My thoughts and behaviour have not have any effect on my job.
“I worked very hard and always tried my best for my patients.”
In a statement issued after the case, Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust said Hopper’s colleagues had received support and counselling.
“While the details of the charges are shocking, it is important to stress that the convictions do not relate to Mr Hopper’s professional conduct,” a spokesperson said.
“During a thorough and painstaking police investigation there were no links found to any patients he treated during his work.”
“We want to reassure the public that our exhaustive investigations have found no evidence whatsoever to indicate any risk or harm to patients at our hospitals,” the trust said.
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
