Conman Edward Putman could be stripped of his home.
A convicted rapist who scammed the lottery out of 2.5 million pounds could lose his home after losing a court case, according to The Metro.
By submitting the fake slip in 2009, Edward Putman was able to commit fraud worth millions of pounds with the assistance of a National Lottery employee. After a trial, it was revealed that he had won the money in 2009 using a fake lottery ticket. He was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2019.
Until his accomplice, a National Lottery employee, committed suicide after confessing the crime to a friend, Edward Putman was spending the money lavishly on luxury cars as well as homes in Florida and Malta.
The news outlet further reported that Putman was ordered to pay back more than 900,000 pounds but has refused to do so. At a proceeds of crime hearing in 2022, he was told he had three months to pay up. Despite being threatened with six more years behind bars after paying back less than 100,000 pounds, the fraudster has refused to hand over the cash. Prosecutors have now been given the power to acquire his possessions and sell them to settle his debts.
The St Albans Crown Court allows an "enforcement receiver" to "take possession of assets, sell them, and pay money to the courts."
'Putman had the chance to settle up, but he is too greedy. Now it is out of his hands,' a source told.
"The authorities are desperate to get the cash back; they won't stand by and let him squirrel away the cash."