Edward Putman has been convicted of defrauding the National Lottery of £2.5m by presenting a counterfeit ticket to claim an unclaimed jackpot. The 59-year-old conspired with Giles Knibbs, a Camelot insider, to submit a deliberately damaged forgery just before the 180-day claim deadline in 2009.
The scam unravelled after Knibbs, who worked in Camelot's securities department, confessed to friends that he had 'conned' the lottery. He later killed himself following a row with Putman over the division of winnings. Knibbs had received only £330,000 of the agreed £1m share.
Putman, who has previous convictions for rape and benefit fraud, was paid the jackpot despite the missing barcode on the slip. Evidence showed the pair produced multiple forged tickets with different codes, eventually submitting the correct one at a shop in High Wycombe.
The Gambling Commission fined Camelot £3m in 2016 for breaches related to the case. The Crown Prosecution Service said it would seek to recover Putman's fraudulently acquired winnings. Judge Michael Kay described the offence as 'a serious fraud on the National Lottery'.
