Telford male stripper given suspended prison sentence for fraud
A man has been given a suspended prison sentence for fraud for claiming financial support from Telford & Wrekin Council while failing to declare he was working as a male stripper and a fire eater.
Shropshire Magistrates sitting in Telford heard Andrew Goodyer, whose stage name is “Rebellion” received an overpayment of £2,303.75 in council tax support and £1,645.05 in the form of a discretionary housing payment to help him pay off his rent arrears.
The case came to light at the beginning of this year when Telford & Wrekin Council was tipped off by the Department for Work and Pensions, backed up by evidence from various social media accounts in his name and the accounts of organisations he worked under.
The court heard Mr Goodyer admitted to Telford & Wrekin Council officers during an interview under caution that he should have declared his work but he was trying to pay off debts from a previous volatile relationship.
Mr Goodyer, whose address was given as Lincoln Crescent, Kirton Lindsey, Gainsborough, pleaded guilty to two charges under the Fraud Act 2006. He was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison suspended for 18 months, ordered to do 107 hours unpaid work, pay costs of £135 to Telford & Wrekin Council and a victim surcharge of £150.
In April 2015 following a joint prosecution by Telford & Wrekin Council and the Department for Work and Pensions, Mr Goodyer was given a community order for claiming more than £18,000 while working as a male stripper and claiming to be too sick to work.
Angie Astley, Assistant Director, Customer & Neighbourhood Services said: “This is the second time he has been convicted of fraud. This time he has been given a suspended sentence. I hope this time it serves as a warning that, if he does it again, he could find himself in prison.”
