A lottery fraudster, Edward Putman, recently settled a substantial court-ordered bill following his £2.5 million jackpot win with a fake ticket, but over £1 million is still unaccounted for. Putman, who served a nine-year prison sentence starting at age 54 for submitting the fraudulent ticket in 2009, has paid £939,000 towards the confiscation order linked to the National Lottery scam involving Camelot insider Giles Knibbs. Knibbs tragically took his life after Putman denied him a share of the illicit funds, leading to the exposure of the scam.

Despite settling the court-issued bill and an additional £240,000 seized from the sale of a property he purchased with the fraudulent money, documents obtained through freedom of information laws reveal that approximately £1.25 million remains missing. Putman, now 60, was released early from his sentence and has faced scrutiny for his involvement in the lottery fraud and a previous conviction for raping a pregnant teenager in 1991.

An acquaintance of Knibbs expressed outrage over Putman’s actions, calling him “evil” for exploiting Knibbs and causing his tragic end. The acquaintance questioned the whereabouts of the remaining £1.2 million, labeling the situation a scandal. Putman and Knibbs initially bonded over shared aspirations in property development, leading to their scheme to defraud the lottery by submitting a fake winning ticket before the legitimate ticket expired.

The fraud went undetected by Camelot, the lottery organizers, who accepted the forged ticket despite missing key features. Knibbs’ suicide in 2015 prompted revelations of the fraud, reigniting investigations that ultimately led to Putman’s incarceration. Following his release, Putman made partial payments and lost his home in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, which was sold for £1.2 million at an auction to AR18 furniture company. The property, damaged in a fire in 2022, was purchased by Putman post-lottery win and served as his residence with partner Lita Stephens.

Efforts to uncover the truth about the missing funds and Putman’s actions continue, leaving lingering questions among those affected by the deceitful lottery scam.