United Kingdom. He caused his own amputation of both legs: a surgeon convicted of fraud

A British surgeon was sentenced Thursday to two years and eight months in prison for insurance fraud after causing his own amputation of both legs. Neil Hopper, 49, a father who worked for the NHS, the British public health system, pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation after claiming nearly 500,000 pounds (575,000 euros) from his insurers following his amputation.

In 2019, he used dry ice to freeze his legs, but when he was admitted to hospital, he declared himself ill and was treated for suspected sepsis. He underwent double amputations of his feet, before finally having them amputated below the knees.

A sexual interest

During the trial, it emerged that he had long wanted to be amputated and that he derived sexual interest from it. "You made fraudulent insurance claims (...) by presenting the cause of your injuries as sepsis, when you had caused them yourself, at least in part for sexual gratification," said Judge James Adkin in sentencing.

Neil Hopper was also prosecuted for possession of extreme pornographic images, videos from a website showing genital mutilation. He was identified in the investigations against Marius Gustavson, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in London in 2024. The Norwegian man was the mastermind of a group that carried out mutilations, including castrations, which were filmed and posted on a paid website. He was tried for a series of offenses related to "extreme body modifications" on 13 victims—including himself—as well as the removal and commercialization of certain parts of the victims' bodies and the posting of videos online.

The Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust, where Neil Hopper worked until his suspension following his arrest, clarified that "these convictions did not relate to (his) professional conduct" and that "no link" had been established during the investigation "with the patients he treated in the course of his work."