A convicted lottery fraudster who swindled £2.5million through a counterfeit ticket has been forced to pay back some of the cash, despite over £1million still missing.
Edward Putman served fewer than half of his nine-year sentence before his release last year under a scheme designed to ease prison overcrowding.
The 59-year-old settled a court-mandated confiscation order of £939,000, along with £85,000 in interest charges.
Prosecutors also recovered £240,000 from the sale of a property acquired with the fraudulent winnings.
Despite these recoveries, bailiffs continue efforts to trace and seize additional assets to compensate Camelot for the outstanding losses.
The elaborate fraud originated in 2009 when Putman, then a bricklayer, conspired with Giles Knibbs, an employee in Camelot’s fraud detection unit.
The men had become acquainted when Putman undertook building work at Knibbs’ residence.
Their relationship evolved into a partnership with property development aspirations.
Edward Putman settled a court-mandated confiscation order of £939,000, along with £85,000 in interest charges
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PA
Together they devised a scheme where Knibbs fabricated a counterfeit lottery ticket matching the winning numbers from a genuine unclaimed ticket purchased at a Worcester Co-op on March 11, 2009.
Putman subsequently presented the forgery to Camelot, alleging he’d found it in his vehicle shortly before the six-month claim deadline.
The fake lacked a barcode due to its bottom portion being torn away, yet Camelot authenticated it.
The conspiracy unravelled following Knibbs’ death by suicide at Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire in October 2015.
They fabricated a counterfeit lottery ticket matching the winning numbers from a genuine unclaimed ticket
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PA
The 38-year-old had confided to friends about having “conned” the lottery with Putman.
However, their partnership deteriorated over disagreements about dividing the stolen money.
Tensions escalated when Putman contacted police in June 2015, alleging Knibbs had threatened to reveal his prior convictions for rape and benefits fraud.
Knibbs left a suicide note addressed to his boyfriend Olivier Orphelin, warning: “Don’t listen to him; he will lie about everything.”
Police discovered documents detailing the fraud scheme after his death, prompting an investigation that initially stalled before resuming in 2017.
Friends of Knibbs have expressed fury over Putman’s premature release and the unresolved financial questions.
“Putman is evil,” stated a friend of the deceased. “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 friend questioned the whereabouts of the missing funds, asking: “What did he do with the rest of the £1.2m? It’s a scandal.”
A family friend added: “They’ve never got to the bottom of what he did with the money; it’s horrific.”
Putman had previously served time for raping a pregnant teenager in 1991.
