A convicted fraudster who orchestrated a multi-million pound lottery scam has repaid nearly a million pounds under a court order, but more than £1.25 million of his illicit winnings remains missing.
The £2.5 Million Forgery
Edward Putman, now 60, was jailed for nine years in 2019 for using a forged ticket to claim a £2.5 million jackpot from the National Lottery draw on March 11, 2009. The elaborate fraud was aided by Giles Knibbs, an insider at lottery operator Camelot who worked in its fraud detection unit.
The pair met when Putman, a former bricklayer, did building work at Knibbs's family home. They later hatched a plot where Knibbs created a fake ticket for the draw, which had the winning numbers 6, 9, 20, 21, 31, and 34. Putman then submitted the ticket, claiming he had found it in his van just days before the six-month deadline to claim a prize expired.
Despite the ticket being missing a barcode, Camelot astonishingly accepted the forgery as genuine. The actual winning ticket, purchased from a Co-op store in Worcester, was never legitimately claimed.
A Crime Exposed by Tragedy
The scam unravelled following the tragic death of Giles Knibbs, who took his own life in October 2015 at Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire. Prior to his death, aged 38, Knibbs had confessed to friends that he and Putman had conned the lottery.
The two accomplices had fallen out over the division of the stolen money. In a suicide note sent to his boyfriend, Olivier Orphelin, Knibbs wrote, Don't listen to him. He will lie about everything. After his death, police discovered notes detailing the fraud, which led to a criminal investigation.
A friend of Knibbs condemned Putman's actions, stating, Putman is evil. He took advantage of Giles and he couldn't live with it. Now Putman is free and able to move on with his life. Giles doesn't get that chance.
The Pursuit of Justice and Missing Millions
Putman was made subject to a Proceeds of Crime Act order. He has since settled a confiscation bill of £939,000 and paid an additional £85,000 in interest. Prosecutors have also successfully seized a further £240,000 from the £1.2 million sale of a house in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, that Putman bought with his fraudulent winnings.
However, documents obtained by The Mirror through Freedom of Information requests reveal a staggering £1.25 million remains unaccounted for. A friend of the Knibbs family expressed frustration, saying, They've never got to the bottom of what he did with the money. It's horrific.
Putman, who was previously convicted for raping a pregnant teenager in 1991 and for benefits fraud, was released from prison last year after serving less than half of his nine-year sentence, as part of a scheme to ease prison overcrowding.
