Shropshire Star

Telford stripper exposed for £3,900 fraud cover-up

A male stripper from Telford has been exposed as a fraudster after his £3,900 benefits cover up was revealed in court.

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Andrew Goodyer aka Rebellion the stripper

Andrew Goodyer, 41, claimed £2,300 in council tax support and £1,600 in discretionary housing payments, funds designated for people in desperate need.

But by night he was flaunting his assets for handsome rewards.

Goodyer - who used the stage name Rebellion - previously received a community order in April 2015 for swindling the taxpayer out of more than £18,000 in benefits payments.

Prosecutor Paul Martin told Telford Magistrates Court: "Issues were brought to the attention of the DWP, who began an investigation. They notified the council in January this year.

"They found he had been working on a self-employed basis in the entertainment industry as a stripper. He failed to declare he was working.

"His work came to the attention via various social media profiles of his own and of companies he worked for."

Goodyer's Facebook page shows pictures of him scantily clad in a host of raunchy poses. He claims to be a "leading male entertainer", offering ladies nights, strippergrams, buff butler and life drawing services.

He can be seen dressed in a range of outfits including as a fireman and a sailor, and in one photograph is pictured half-naked and sat astride a giggling woman.

'High maintenance'

Goodyer had already been convicted of five charges of benefit fraud, and these latest offences came after his last conviction.

He applied for the discretionary housing payment in July 2016, and his council tax claim ran between December 2015 and April last year.

Goodyer, who has since moved to Lincoln Crescent, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, pleaded guilty to fraud and dishonestly failing to disclose information to make a gain for himself.

Kate Cooper, defending Goodyer, said he had a "high maintenance" girlfriend who was controlling and coercive, and that he felt like he had to fund her lifestyle.

She said: "He spent all his money on her. He had difficulty paying the rent."

She added that he has moved away from Telford and started a plastering business.

District judge Timothy Boswell told Goodyer: "This money should have been going to people in need who are eligible for such payments. Everybody knows how tight public finances are.

"One of these claims was fraudulent from the outset."

He sentenced Goodyer to 16 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months.

Goodyer was also ordered to carry out 160 hours of unpaid work and pay £250 in court charges. Goodyer is paying back the money he claimed to Telford & Wrekin Council.

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