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Showing posts from March, 2011

Ex-Iron Maiden singer, 52, jailed over £45,000 benefits swindle

I never thought the day would come when I would see that happen, but obviously I have. We can argue the ins and the outs about this:  the singer apparently was claiming benefits while 'working' (ie performing live in concert, and recording fresh material), and thus earning an income.  His claim was that he hurt his back in 1998 (my sympathy is with him there, because I too suffer back pain).  But he could still sing and (according to the authorities) therefore, work. How D'ianno was 'caught out', via a YouTube video of himself performing live in 2006. Yet, D'ianno lawyer argued that he had a lot of expenses, and actually lost alot of money over the years.  He also argued that D'ianno was 'naive' when it came to business matters and had little (if any) formal education. The consequence for his 'misdemeanours' was up to 12 months' imprisonment, and he owed £45,479 to the tax department. On the forum for the Daily Mail, the followi...