Man behind dancing Kia hamster charged with insurance fraud

YouTube/VIPArmy

Man behind dancing Kia hamster charged with insurance fraud
(Image credit: YouTube/VIPArmy)

At the same time he was busting a move as one of the dancing hamsters in those bizarre Kia commercials, officials say 27-year-old Leroy Barnes was collecting disability insurance checks for thousands of dollars.

ABC7 Los Angeles reports that in June 2010, Barnes said he was hit by a piece of ceiling during a sound check. He began to collect disability and workers' compensation checks, earning more than $51,000 between September 2010 and September 2011. When Barnes wasn't portraying a hamster with sweet moves, he worked under various aliases as a backup dancer for Madonna, Chris Brown, and Kelly Rowland.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.