Champion bodybuilder on welfare for over seven years
News.com.au reports:
A BENEFITS cheat who claimed to be too weak to walk has turned out to be Mr Wales, a competitive bodybuilder.
Peter Beddoe, 49, from South Wales, claimed nearly $54,000 in disability benefits while at the same time competing in bodybuilding championships, even taking out the title in the Mr Wales Over 40 contest. …
He was being paid the higher rate of disability allowance meant for people who could not walk, Wales Online reported.
He scammed the system claiming he needed a walking stick, crutches or other means of support to be able to get around, a far cry from the images of him strutting his stuff on stage.
Officials from the Department of Work and Pensions launched an investigation after two tip offs that he was illegally claiming benefits while competing in bodybuilding contests.
The investigation uncovered that he made 340 visits to the gym in one year alone, using weights in his training sessions.
Prosecutor Stuart McLeese said, “Between 2008 and 2013 he visited the gym more than 1,100 times.”
Not bad for someone who claimed he couldn’t walk!