Surgeon jailed for fraud after lying about self-inflicted injuries that led to his leg amputations

A senior surgeon from Cornwall, who fraudulently claimed over £466,000 in insurance payouts after his legs were amputated due to self-inflicted injuries, has been sentenced to 32 months in prison today.

Andrew Neil Hopper, 49, who was a Consultant Vascular Surgeon at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by false representation and three counts of possession of extreme pornographic images at Truro Crown Court.

The fraud came to light after Hopper, who performed amputations as part of his role at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, was investigated for paying to access a website called EnuchMaker, which sold videos of amputations and body modification, including penises being removed. The website has since been shut down.

Hopper suffered injuries to his legs in April 2019 which resulted in them being amputated below the knees. While he claimed the injuries to his limbs were the result of sepsis, he had in fact caused them himself by placing his legs into a mixture of ice and dry ice he had purchase online.

Richard Parkhouse of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “This is a highly unusual and shocking case which came to light during an investigation into a website selling extreme images of amputations and body modification.

“Hopper has a sexual fetish linked to amputation, and paid to access these images for his own gratification.

“In his communications with the owner of the website, the truth about Hopper’s own injuries was revealed: that the damage that led to his double leg amputations had been self-inflicted. Hopper failed to disclose this fact when making two insurance claims for his injuries, and fraudulently pocketed almost half a million pounds.

“The CPS will be making an application under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2022 to recover the money that Hopper acquired through this fraud.”

Building the case

The offences were identified following an investigation by the Metropolitan Police into the EunuchMaker website run by Marius Gustavson. The site offered pay-to-view access to videos of Gustavson carrying extreme body modifications and mutilations on paying customers.

Investigators found that Hopper had paid to access the website and had exchanged over 5,000 messages and emails with Gustavson, including ones in which they discussed the double amputation of Hopper’s lower legs. These exchanges included Gustavson providing Hopper with advice and guidance on how to freeze his legs.

A PayPal transaction revealed that Hopper made an online purchase of 20kg of dry ice pellets on 14 April 2019, just days before paramedics found him at home with serious injuries to his feet and legs on 17 April.

Following the amputations, Hopper made insurance claims to Avia and Old Mutual Wealth that paid out £235,622.14 and £231,031.67 respectively, a total of £466,653.81. The policies provided a lump sum in the event of death or critical illness Hopper did not disclose that his injuries were self-inflicted.

In a separate case, Marius Gustavson pleaded guilty to various offences including five counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and was jailed for life in May 2024 and ordered to serve at least 22 years in prison.