A backup dancer who appeared in Kia's hamster commercials has been formally charged with insurance fraud, around three months after he was apprehended by the Los Angeles Police Department at a traffic stop.
Leroy Barnes, who also worked as a backup dancer for Madonna and Chris Brown, was reportedly arrested on March 20 and subsequently released on a $50,000 bail, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department website. A California Department of Insurance spokesperson confirmed that Barnes is accused of workers' compensation fraud. Barnes has been suspected of deceiving doctors about his employment status in order to continuously receive disability benefits.
Barnes supposedly took advantage of an injury he received during a soundcheck in June 2010, The Hollywood Reporter said. The dancer was struck with a piece of ceiling that had fallen on him during that time. Because of the injuries he sustained from the incident, Barnes received state disability insurance benefits totaling more than $51,000 from September 2010 to September 2011, as he declared that he was not employed during that year presumably because of the injury. However, detectives have learned in an investigation that Barnes was actually working on the time he had declared himself to be unemployed. Aside from starring in the famous Kia ad, he continued to work as a backup dancer, and even performed in a rap group and assisted in a recording of a song titled "cat Daddy," THR said.
Barnes, who appeared in court on May 19, is slated for another appearance on July 2 in relation to the charges filed against him. Should Barnes get convicted for wrongdoing, he could face six years in state prison and is expected to cough up $74,287.69 in restitution, which includes state disability insurance benefits, medical and legal fees.
ABC attempted to contact Barnes regarding the charges but was unable to do so. It is not clear whether Barnes has denied or admitted wrongdoing.
