'Agadoo' Singer Jailed For Claiming Disability Benefit While Touring

The frontman of '80s UK europop outfit Black Lace, best known for their hit song Agadoo, has been jailed for fraudulently claiming nearly £25000 (almost $AUS45000) in disability benefits while touring with the band. 

As Daily Mirror reports, Dene Michael (real name Dene Michael Betteridge) will spend six months in prison after making a number of claims between 2012-2014, in which he told the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) that he was unable to walk and had a mobility scooter and crutches to move around his home, even though he was touring throughout the UK.

In one instance, Betteridge declared his income was £1250, when it was actually around £9000. He also told the DWP that he had only played live once with Black Lace, when in fact he had performed 14 times. 

"He was lead singer and frontman. This role involved vigorous physical activity," prosecutor Angus MacDonald said.

"Despite that, over 18 months to two years, the defendant made fraudulent claims."

The 59-year-old singer's wife, Karen Betteridge, has also been hit with a 12-month community order and 100 hours of unpaid work for claiming more than £2000 in carer's allowance.

Judge Jacqueline Davies sentenced both Betteridge and his wife in Leeds Crown Court this week. 

"It's not disputed the fraud was persistent from the outset but not of a sophisticated manner," Davies said.

"You would have inevitably been discovered offending in this way.

"You were claiming a sum that was not insignificant at a time when we all know this country was, and indeed still is, undergoing times of stress as far as publicly funded benefits are concerned."

The court heard that Betteridge and his wife have begun to pay back the money.