Fury as rapist conman who stole £2.5m jackpot from the National Lottery by forging a winning ticket is to get early release from prison after serving half of his nine-year …
- Edward Putman was jailed for scam he plotted with lottery worker Giles Knibbs
A rapist conman who stole a £2.5million jackpot from the National Lottery[2] by forging a winning ticket is set for an early release – sparking anger from friends of his late partner in crime[3].
Edward Putman, 58, was jailed for nine years in 2019 for the scam he cooked up with Lottery insider Giles Knibbs, who worked in Camelot’s fraud detection unit and made a fake ticket to secure the funds.
After securing the jackpot, Putman then duped Knibbs out of the ill-gotten gains, and the lottery worker admitted to his family what he had done before taking his own life in 2015.
Putman, a builder from Hertfordshire, was convicted of the lottery scam in 2019, and has since served less than half of his sentence.
Now Knibbs’ anguished friends have spoken out to condemn his early release, with one telling The Mirror[4]: ‘Giles is gone and Putman is free – how is that fair? Giles was exploited and took his own life.
Edward Putman, 58, was jailed for nine years in 2019 and has served less than half his sentence
Giles Knibbs, who worked in Camelot’s fraud detection unit, made a fake ticket to secure the funds. He later took his own life
‘Now Putman has been freed and has the rest of his life ahead of him,’ the unnamed family friend added.
‘They’ve never got to the bottom of what he did with the money. It’s horrific.’
Putman, a convicted sex offender, was previously jailed for seven years for raping a pregnant 17-year-old girl in 1991.
Years later, he undertook the lottery scam alongside Knibbs, using a forgery of a ticket to claim the winnings.
The authentic winning ticket, which had the numbers 6, 9, 20, 21, 31 and 34, had been purchased at a Co-op shop in Worcester.
But Putman and Knibbs’ forgery was accepted despite missing the bottom half and having no barcode, and the crook received millions.
The former bricklayer told Camelot he had found it under the seat of his van and claimed it days before the six-month time limit.
After this, Putman was jailed for three months in 2012 after he was found guilty of fraudulently claiming £13,000 in benefits despite the lottery win.
He and his partner allegedly lived a jet-set lifestyle, flying around the globe and buying multiple properties.
But his relationship with Knibbs deteriorated after his co-conspirator began to feel he had not received his fair share of the £2.5million prize.
The fake National Lottery ticket used by conman Edward Putman, which was missing the bottom half and had no barcode
The Camelot worker confessed what he had done to loved ones before taking his own life in 2015.
After his suicide, police found notes detailing the fraud, and an investigation was opened, but it was closed when Camelot could not locate the alleged forgery.
It was then opened again in 2017 when a Camelot employee finally located the ticket, and Putman was charged in 2019.
He was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to nine years in prison.
Passing sentence at the time, Judge Grey said the ‘sophisticated, carefully planned, and diligently operated fraud’ struck at the heart of the integrity of the National Lottery.
Putman was hit with a £939,000 confiscation order, and had reportedly paid off £94,000 before his home in Kings Langley, Herts, was seized by prosecutors last year.
The property, a derelict home near the M25, eventually sold for £1.2million at auction.
The property and land were sold under the Proceeds of Crimes Acts and had attracted almost 400 bids.
For confidential support, call Samaritans on 116 123, visit samaritans.org or visit thecalmzone.net/get-support
References
- ^ Elena Salvoni (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ National Lottery (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ crime (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ The Mirror (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ Crime (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ National Lottery (www.dailymail.co.uk)