A convicted rapist who scammed Camelot out of £2.5 million with a forged Lotto ticket in 2009 may be forced to surrender his home after losing a court battle to keep control of his ill-gotten gains, it has been reported.
Edward Putman was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2019 for the swindle – but only after he was found out when his partner-in-crime left an incriminating suicide note four years earlier.
The 57-year-old, who was also jailed for seven years in 1993 for raping a pregnant 17-year-old, was given away by Lotto insider Giles Knibbs, who was bribed by the conman to forge a winning ticket.
The deception worked and Putman was awarded the huge jackpot, but Knibbs was upset at not getting his fair share of the booty and dropped his former pal in it when he decided to end his own life.
As well as being sent to prison, Putman was also ordered to pay back £940,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act, but he returned less than £100,000 and was said to have splashed much of the cash on luxury cars as well as properties in Florida and Malta.
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But now Putman’s £700,000 house in Hertfordshire, may be in jeopardy, with forensic accountants reportedly looking to sell his possessions and settle his debts.
Prosecutors are reported to have been granted an enforcement receiver order at St Albans Crown Court, which gives them the power to “take possession of assets, sell them and pay money to the courts”.
The house has recently been damaged by fire, with police continuing to investigate a suspected arson attack.
A source told the Mirror: “Putman had the chance to settle up, but he’s too greedy – now it’s out of his hands.
“The authorities are desperate to get the cash back, they won’t stand by and let him squirrel away the cash.
“Putman played the coward and tried to fight the application but prosecutors won.”
