Kia Hamster Dancer Commits Disability Fraud
I had the honor of meeting a Kia hamster back in February at the Chicago Auto Show—shook his paw and everything. And now? I feel absolutely sickened that my idol, my role model, dare I say my hero, is a fraud. And no, not because it’s really just a strange man underneath a stinky hamster suit.
The hamster I pet met in Chicago
In a hilarious yet satisfying report out of the Huffington Post today, we learned that one Kia hamster dancer, Leroy Barnes, was arrested on March 20 in L.A. for disability fraud and released the following day on $50,000 bail. A $50,000 bail seems rather fitting, seeing as the Kia hamster dancer (rolls off the tongue more than Leroy Barnes) collected a total of $51,000 in disability benefits over the course of a year, starting back in September of 2010, after a piece of ceiling fell on him in June of 2010.
I’m not really sure what the little hamster dude was thinking. How could you be suffering from a disability, yet still running around on your hip-hop hamster wheel at the same time? Busted.
“No one will suspect a cute, cuddly hamster of committing fraud. I’m a genius.”
Leroy did more than just dance his way into our hearts (presumably as one of the fat hamsters, as they didn’t get strangely skinny until last year), however; he also performed under a number of aliases. The Kia hamster dancer went by MoWii while performing with The Rej3ctz (who most likely tried to copyright the name “The Rejects” but had their application rejected) for the song “Cat Daddy.” He also went by Hypnosis while doing backup dancing for Madonna, Kelly Rowland, and Chris Brown.
Dave Jones, California Insurance Commissioner, released the following statement: “Fraudulently collecting disability benefits is not only illegal, it disrespects legitimately injured Californians who are unable to work.”
You can watch the Kia hamster dancer do his fraudulent thing in the world-famous Kia hamster commercial for the Soul below:
And check out the “Cat Daddy” video while you’re at it:
Timothy Moore takes his leadership inspiration from Michael Scott, his writing inspiration from Mark Twain, and his dancing inspiration from every drunk white guy at a wedding. When Tim is not writing about cars and money, he’s working on his novel or reading someone else’s, geeking out over strategy board games, hiking with his pooch, or channeling his inner Linda Belcher over beers with his friends. See more articles by Timothy.