Man who claimed £2.5million using fake lottery ticket could make £350k while behind bars
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One bloke who managed to con the National Lottery out of a mammoth fortune could still make a decent lump sum whilst being behind bars.
In October 2019, Edward Putman, who is also a convicted rapist, was found guilty after claiming a staggering £2.5 million jackpot using a fake lottery ticket a decade prior back in 2009.
Putman, who is now 56, ended up having to flog his possessions to settle his debts after being ordered to pay back almost £940,000 within three months in January of last year.
After a year, the man had only only repaid a fraction of the total sum, £94,000, which consequently led to his home near the M25 being seized by authorities.
Now this is where things get interesting.
The house in question ended up being sold at an auction for a massive £1.2 million.
So, if you do the maths, the house sale could mean that after Putman has settled his current debts - he could in theory have a colossal £355,000 left over as disposable income.
While the property was valued at £700,000, it is believed that the accompanying land next to it was what really hiked the price tag up with an obvious appeal for any eager developers out there.
However, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), it is not very likely that Putman will ever see that money given that the court holds the power to increase the value of the confiscation order.
James Ashworth, of Landwood Property Auctions, said: "The property exceeded our expectations with more than one bid per second.
"The competition generated was fantastic and it will be interesting to see what the buyer does with it."
The CPS added: "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."
During sentencing, Judge Philip Grey described the crime as a 'sophisticated, carefully planned, and diligently operated fraud'.
He told Putman: "You would have got away with this but quite plainly you were greedy.
"This crime struck at the integrity of the National Lottery. You have also undermined the public's trust in the lottery itself."
Now, you may be wondering, what happened to the person who had the actual winning ticket?
Well, you may be miffed to find out the life-changing jackpot, which as purchased at a Worcester Co-op branch 11 March 2009, was never actually claimed.
It had the winning numbers 6, 9, 20, 21 and 34.
Featured Image Credit: PA
Topics: UK News, Crime, Money, National Lottery
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