Convicted rapist who was jailed for faking £2.5m National Lottery win is set to appeal verdict

Convicted rapist Edward Putman, 54, who was jailed for faking £2.5m National Lottery win is set to appeal the verdict and his nine year prison sentence

  • Putman, from Kings Langley in Hertfordshire was jailed in 1991 for raping girl, 17
  • In 2009, he conspired with Camelot worker Giles Knibbs to scam the Lottery
  • Mr Knibbs then killed himself before Putman was arrested for the con
  • He was jailed for nine years in October but wants to appeal his conviction

A conman rapist who was jailed for nine years for claiming a £2.5million jackpot using a fake ticket is appealing the verdict.

Edward Putman, 54, from Kings Langley in Hertfordshire, was given a nine-year sentence in October after conspiring with Camelot worker Giles Knibbs to use a bogus ticket in March 2009.

But the builder’s fraud unravelled after Mr Knibbs confessed to friends that he had ‘conned’ the Lottery before taking his own life after an angry row about how the winnings were divided. 

Giles Knibbs (pictured) killed himself after confessing to friends he had 'conned' the Lottery

Edward Putman (left)  conspired with Giles Knibbs (right), a Camelot insider, to cheat the system and present a counterfeit slip to claim the outstanding top prize in 2009

The criminal appeal court listing office has confirmed Putman’s appeal is in its early stages but no hearing date has been listed, according to The Sun.

Previously, Putman was jailed for seven years for raping a 17-year-old girl in 1991.

But Judge Philip Grey refused a prosecution application to tell the jury in his latest trial about the previous convictions.

In 2012, he was also jailed for nine months for a £13,000 benefits fraud. 

When Mr Knibbs’s mother Anne, 74, heard of the appeal bid, she said: ‘That is the first we knew about it.

‘We’ve just had enough of the whole thing. We are just trying to get our lives back together.’

Mr Knibbs was only given £280,000 of the £2.5million winnings, it is claimed. 

The genuine winning ticket, which was bought in Worcester, has never been discovered.

Putman was paid the jackpot by Camelot despite the bottom part of the mangled slip missing the barcode

Putman was paid the jackpot by Camelot despite the bottom part of the mangled slip missing the barcode

Putman was paid the jackpot by Camelot despite the bottom part of the mangled slip missing the barcode.

The scam began to fall apart after the friendship between former business partners Mr Knibbs and Putman deteriorated.

Mr Knibbs sought vengeance on his former friend because he had not given him his agreed share of the winnings from the draw on March 11, 2009.

Before he died Mr Knibbs told friends of his conspiracy with Putman, a builder who had worked on an extension at his home in Bricket Wood, Hertfordshire.

In June 2015 Putman had gone to the police alleging Mr Knibbs had threatened to reveal his previous convictions for the rape of a 17 year old girl in 1991 and a benefits fraud in 2012.

He also reported that Mr Knibbs had stolen his mobile phone and damaged the wing mirror on his car.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk