Convicted lottery fraudster set to receive massive £350k windfall while still behind bars
Convicted lottery fraudster set to receive massive £350k windfall while still behind bars
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A convicted lottery fraudster is set to cash in on an eye-watering £350k windfall while still behind bars from the sale of his seized home.
Edward Putman, was jailed in 2019 for nine years after forging a winning lottery ticket worth £2.5million.
The 57-year-old conman had his home seized after paying off just £94,000 of a £939,000 confiscation order.
His home was then sold at auction for £1.2million meaning he could cash in £355,000 after settling the remaining debt
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His home was then sold at auction for £1.2million meaning he could cash in £355,000 from the sale of his seized home after settling the remaining debt.
However, the CPS has claimed it is unlikely Putman will receive the cash as the court holds the power to increase the value of the confiscation order.
Despite being a run-down house following a fire last October which left a gaping hole in the roof, the property received 400 bids for the house and adjoining land in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire.
The property was initially valued at £700,000 but experts explained that the land which lies near the M25 was appealing to developers.
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At a hearing in St Albans crown court last January, Putman was confirmed to have benefitted by £2,525,495
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“The property exceeded our expectations with more than one bid per second,” Landwood Property Auctions director James Ashworth told the Mirror.
“The competition generated was fantastic and it will be interesting to see what the buyer does with it.”
At a hearing in St Albans crown court last January, Putman was confirmed to have benefitted by £2,525,495, ordering him to repay £939,782.44.
The Crown Prosecution Service said Wednesday night: “In any given case, if there is a surplus following the sale of assets, we will always review the Confiscation Order and, where appropriate, apply to increase the order, until the full criminal benefit has been repaid.”
Edward Putman's forged lottery ticket
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Putman’s lotto plot was discovered following the death of his accomplice Giles Knibbs, a member of the Camelot fraud detection unit.
Knibbs made the fake ticket and Putman submitted it, claiming to have found it in his van just days before the six-month deadline to claim the money expired.
The Camelot employee took his own life after confessing to his family in 2015.
Police opened a probe following the discovery of notes detailing the fraud.
The actual winning ticket, bought at a Co-Op in Worcester on 11 March 2009, was never claimed.