A lottery fraudster who was jailed for his involvement in scamming the National Lottery out of millions was awarded £53,000 in legal aid for his trial.
As reported in The Daily Mail, 54-year-old Edward Putman, of Kings Langley, was awarded the funds for his trial in October last year, which resulted in him being put behind bars for nine years.
Putman was found guilty of conning Camelot out of £2.5million after successfully claiming a fake winning ticket to the March 2009 draw.
The scammer worked with insider Giles Knibbs, who created the 29 tickets that Putman had tried across the country and “struck lucky” when claiming the ticket at North Town Stores in High Wycombe.
After claiming the £2,525,485 jackpot, Putman said he wanted to remain anonymous.
The scam only came to light after Mr Knibbs confessed to an ex-partner and later killed himself.
The Daily Mail reported that £37,000 was the fee for his barristers and £16,000 for his solicitors.
Legal aid can help meet the costs of legal advice, family mediation and representation in a court or tribunal.
To be accepted for it, Putman would have had to show that his case is eligible for it, the problem is serious, or he couldn’t afford to pay legal costs.
Putman, who is also a convicted rapist, still owned a £700,000 house on Station Road at the time of his trial.
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