Lottery Conman Settles Bill But Millions Remain Missing
Notorious lottery fraudster Edward Putman has settled a significant confiscation bill, but documents reveal that more than £1.25 million of his illicit winnings remains unaccounted for. The convict, who used a forged ticket to claim a £2.5 million jackpot in 2009, was jailed for nine years in 2019.
Putman, now 60, has complied with a £939,000 court order imposed under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Furthermore, Crown Prosecution Service lawyers successfully seized an additional £240,000 from the £1.2 million sale of a house he purchased with his fraudulent gains. He also paid £85,000 in interest.
A Victim's Outrage and a Trail of Crime
The news has provoked fury from one of Putman's previous victims, a woman he raped in 1991 when she was a pregnant 17-year-old. She believes he has escaped true justice, given the vast sum of money still missing and his extensive criminal history.
"He has got away with £1m and yet what can you do?" the survivor told the Mirror. "It does not surprise me at all that he spent so much of the money, that is typical of him. It makes me so angry but there are so many injustices in this."
She recounted the trauma of testifying against him, alleging he tried to intimidate her in court by shaking his head and tutting. Putman was sentenced to seven years for the rape and had a prior conviction for a £13,000 benefits fraud in 2012.
The Elaborate Lottery Scam and its Tragic Fallout
The sophisticated fraud was orchestrated with the help of Giles Knibbs, an insider at Camelot's fraud detection unit. The pair met when Putman, a former bricklayer, did building work at Knibbs' family home.
Their plan involved creating a fake ticket for the March 11, 2009 draw, with the winning numbers 6, 9, 20, 21, 31, and 34. Astonishingly, Camelot accepted the forgery as genuine, despite it missing a barcode. The scam unravelled after Knibbs died by suicide in October 2015, leaving a note that implicated Putman and detailed the fraud.
A friend of Knibbs labelled Putman "evil", stating, "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."
Putman was released from prison last year after serving less than half of his sentence, under a scheme to ease prison overcrowding. The hunt for the missing £1.25 million continues, leaving a trail of anger and injustice in its wake.
