RAPIST & THE £2.5M LOTTO SCAM
Jackpot claimed with ‘deliberately damaged ticket’
A CONVICTED rapist scooped a £2.5million lottery jackpot with a suspected dodgy ticket, it was claimed yesterday.
Edward Putman didn’t face charges but Camelot were fined £3million over the 2009 scam. Labour’s Tom Watson said: “How did the great lotto scandal go unnoticed so long?”
CAMELOT last night came under fire over the £2.5million lottery scam that led to it being hit with a £3million fine.
Campaigning Labour MP Tom Watson demanded the operator come clean over its role in the scandal after it was claimed the jackpot was won by convicted rapist and fraudster Edward Putman using a dodgy ticket.
The 51-year-old, from Hertfordshire, allegedly claimed the prize with a “deliberately damaged” coupon in 2009.
His win went unquestioned until last year when “new evidence” came to light and he was arrested. Putman was never charged but Camelot was hit by the fine by the Gambling Commission.
Revealing its decision yesterday, it said: “Whilst it could not be certain a fraud had taken place, it was more likely than not that a fraudulent prize claim had been made and paid out.”
Lottery boss Andy Duncan ducked questions about the possibility of an inside job.
But Shadow Culture Secretary Mr Watson called for greater scrutiny of the operator. He said: “The commission says it’s ‘highly likely’ this is a case of fraud but Camelot won’t say what happened. How did the great lotto scandal go unnoticed for so many years?”
It is thought Putman made the claim after a publicity campaign to find a jackpot winner for a ticket bought around Worcester.
No one else came forward to make a stake on the prize then or since.
It is understood the barcode on the ticket was unreadable leaving Camelot unable to match it to the shop that sold the winning line.
Sources said the payment was cleared following a phone call between the winner and then-Camelot chief executive Dame Dianne Thompson. Hertfordshire Police said a 51-year-old man from Kings Langley was arrested in October 2015 over “an allegation of fraud connected to a lottery win from 2009”. A spokeswoman added: “Following a thorough investigation he was released with no further action to be taken.”
The operator no longer has the ticket, the Mirror understands, and only has a photocopy. The Gambling Commission found Camelot had breached five conditions of its licence.
Among them is a clause that the firm make sure “any data and other information… cannot be accessed, read, added to, removed or altered by unauthorised persons”.
Camelot has admitted its record-keeping was not up to scratch. Mr Duncan said: “Based on what we’ve seen, it was a reasonable decision to have made to pay out that prize at the time. It was only when the evidence came along in 2015 that it threw any doubt on that decision.
“I’m not sure we will ever get to the bottom of whether this alleged incident did or didn’t actually happen. We accept that, at the time, there were some weaknesses in specific controls
relevant to this incident and we’re
very sorry for that. We’ve strengthened our processes significantly since 2009 and are completely confident that an incident of this nature could not happen today. This allegation relates to a one-off incident and involves a potentially fraudulent claim on a deliberately damaged ticket.
“It has nothing to do with the National Lottery draws themselves.” Camelot could now move to get the money back from former car salesman Putman.
Mr Duncan said: “We are still looking at our options with regards the money itself and looking at legal options going forward.
“Ultimately, if this fraud did indeed take place, we’re the victims of fraud.” But Mr Watson added: “Thousands of organisations rely on money from the National Lottery and the millions of people who play it are right to expect that the rules of the game are fair.
“Camelot has very serious questions to answer about this fraud, which should never have been allowed to take place. So too do ministers. Karen Bradley was asked only on Thursday in Parliament about security breaches at the National Lottery and she failed to offer assurance that the Government is taking steps to improve it.”
The Government has known about the
probe into Putman’s win for more than a year, Whitehall sources said. Gambling Commission chief Sarah Harrison said: “Our chief concern is to ensure the National Lottery is run with integrity and player interests are protected.
“Camelot’s failures in this case are serious and the penalty reflects this.
“Importantly, it also ensures good causes will not lose out as a result of Camelot’s licence breach.
“Players can feel reassured that our investigations have found no evidence of similar events happening and that controls are in place today to mitigate against future prize payout failings of this type.”The £3million penalty included £2.5million “to represent the amount that would have been received by good causes had the prize claim not been paid”.
Putman kept the win secret from even family after asking for anonymity. But the multi-millionaire was outed in 2012 when caught claiming benefits.
He splashed out on two sports cars and his plush home but continued to rake in £13,000. Putman even sent a letter begging for his income and housing support to be reinstated, claiming he had no money. He was later jailed for nine months.
He was also locked up in 1993 when, as a jobless bricklayer, he raped a teenager in Milton Keynes, Bucks.
Putman refused to answer the door at his £650,000 home yesterday.
The fine is Camelot’s second this year. In July it was ordered to pay £300,000 after inaccurate results for the Lotto Millionaire Raffle went up on its website.
CAMELOT must be forced to answer troubling questions about what is dubbed “the great Lotto scandal” or confidence in the national game will evaporate.
So either boss Andy Duncan starts talking now or MPs should drag him before the Commons Culture Committee and get to the bottom of how a convicted rapist and fraudster allegedly scammed a £2.5million jackpot.
The Gambling Commission’s £3million fine and Camelot insisting it tightened security is the start, not the end, of a scandal which raises concerns about the entire operation’s integrity.
Punters play in good faith and deserve to know all the facts instead of the operator stonewalling and ducking vital questions.
The suspected con is like a plot from a deeply disturbing novel. And the fear is that a company that gullible is seriously flawed.
Trust is hard won, easily lost, and if Camelot is to reassure the public it better start talking. Because the firm’s reputation is badly tarnished.