UK surgeon accused of faking leg amputations for £500K Insurance fraud

A former UK vascular surgeon is facing serious criminal charges after allegedly amputating his own legs to fraudulently claim nearly £500,000 in insurance payouts. Neil Hopper, 49, who worked at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, is accused of deliberately misrepresenting the cause of his amputations to insurers, falsely claiming they resulted from sepsis.

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Court proceedings revealed that Hopper filed two insurance claims in June 2019 — one for £235,622 with Arriva Group and another for £231,031 with Old Mutual — both allegedly based on false information. Prosecutors claim he intentionally concealed the self-inflicted nature of his injuries.

In a disturbing development, Hopper is also accused of encouraging another man, Marius Gustavson, to amputate the limbs of others. Between 2018 and 2020, he reportedly purchased videos from a website called Eunuch Maker, which promotes extreme body modification, including limb removal.

Hopper was suspended from medical practice in December 2023 following the allegations and has not worked since March of that year. The General Medical Council had previously restricted his licence.

The Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust confirmed his employment from 2013 to 2023 and is cooperating with the police investigation. The Trust stated there was no evidence that patient safety had been compromised.