Man Who Claimed £2.5M Jackpot with Fake Ticket Freed

A 58-year-old man who was convicted of raping a 17-year-old girl more than three decades ago and was recently serving a sentence for fraud after claiming a multi-million lottery jackpot was recently released. The case involves a person with the initials E.P., who used to be a builder before co-conspiring to claim £2.5 million ($3.2 million) jackpot from the UK National Lottery. Back in 2019, the person was sentenced to nine years in prison, after it was uncovered that he was involved in the fraudulent activity that enabled him to claim the jackpot.

Now, a new report reveals that after serving only half of his nine-year sentence, the lotto fraudster was recently released from prison. The 58-year-old served four and half years of his sentence and was released last week, the Mirror reports.

Besides nine years in prison, the man was also ordered to pay back nearly £940,000 ($1.2 million). Contesting to that order, he only paid back close to £100,000 ($125,100). However, the fraudster’s house was ultimately seized by prosecutors and was subsequently sold.

The Fraud Was Uncovered after the Death of Co-conspirator

The early release of the convicted rapist and lottery fraudster did not resonate well with friends of his former accomplice. To complete the lottery fraud, the 58-year-old co-conspired with a person with the initials G.K., who took his own life back in 2015. One of the friends of the fraudster’s accomplice was enraged. They asked how it was possible for E.T. to be released early while his accomplice had been dead for years. Moreover, they said the fraudster “has been freed and has the rest of his life ahead of him.”

One of the reasons why G.K. has taken his life is likely a dispute between him and E.T. about the money share for each of them. “They’ve never got to the bottom of what he did with the money. It’s horrific,” said the friend of the deceased man.

The unelaborate fraud dates back to 2009, when the two men conspired to collect the jackpot from the UK Lottery which was then operated by Camelot. The 58-year-old man came forward near the end of August of the same year to collect an unclaimed £2.5 million ($3.2 million) jackpot from March. The man told a story that he found the lottery ticket under the seat in his van. However, the fake winning ticket was torn in half and was missing the bottom which usually contains unique numbers.

This bold move ultimately granted the fraudster the jackpot. But he did not get along with his co-conspirator who took his own life in 2015. Before doing so, the second person involved in the fraud admitted to friends that he conspired with E.T. to defraud the lottery and collect the jackpot. After his death, it wasn’t long before the fraud was uncovered which led to the sentencing of the 58-year-old.