Jailed National Lottery conman Eddie Putman is today blamed for driving his partner-in-crime to suicide.
Olivier Orphelin says the thug is responsible for the death of his lover Giles Knibbs.
He reveals the ex-Camelot worker’s chilling suicide note and says: “He’d be alive but for Eddie’s greed.”
Putman - jailed for cashing in a fake winning ticket - is blamed for the death of his accomplice in the £2.5million scam.
Olivier Orphelin says his Camelot worker lover – who helped crook Eddie Putman pull off the fraud – would be alive today if his partner-in-crime hadn’t been so greedy.
Insider Giles Knibbs supplied Putman with the counterfeit winning ticket he printed at work.
He killed himself after his sidekick – who refused to pay him half the money – went to police accusing him of blackmail.
Olivier says Giles, 38, kept him in the dark about the astonishing 2009 fraud right up to his death four years ago – but warned him to stay away from builder Putman in a frightening suicide note ending with the words: “Destroy this page after reading.”
Now Olivier, whose evidence helped send Putman down for nine years earlier this month, reveals the contents of the note, his life with the lottery swindlers and the first pictures of them together.
Fighting back tears, he says: “I was blinded by my love and respect for Giles. He was such a nice guy and I could never have imagined what he’d done.
“If I could speak to him now I would ask him, ‘Why the f*** didn’t you tell me? I would have helped you’.
“As for Eddie, he is responsible. If he hadn’t been so greedy Giles would still be alive. He’s a very dangerous man.”
Frenchman Olivier, 46, also tells how:
- Giles was so terrified of his partner-in-crime that he fitted their home with CCTV
- Greedy Putman, 54, was still buying Lotto scratchcards AFTER the fake ticket “win” – for which he chose to remain anonymous
- Giles almost revealed his dreadful secret to his lover in a chance remark
- And he smashed up Putman’s car before locking himself away for hours on end in the lead up to his suicide at a beauty spot.
Olivier began dating Giles after they met at a pub in St Albans, Herts, in 2011 – the year after the fraud.
He was introduced to Putman, from nearby Kings Langsley, a year later and became friendly with him.
Olivier knew his new acquaintance was a Lotto winner – but was wary of the loudmouth builder.
“Eddie was generous and friendly and I got on with his girlfriend very well,” says Olivier.
“But I never really liked him or felt he was someone I could trust.
“He was a big show-off, always out for himself. I did tell Giles what I thought of Eddie, but at the same time it was his friend so I didn’t cause a fuss.
"I think Giles’ point of view was very like mine, but he said, ‘He’s good fun and we’re doing business together’.”
Olivier noticed Putman always kept the curtains closed at his house.
“Even during the day because he was worried about people seeing in,” he says.
“He drove a big white BMW M Sport, which he was very proud of.
“His girlfriend also had other cars she would drive and they went to Mauritius flying first class with British Airways.
"He was spending money, but was also careful not to show too much.”
Olivier says his new lover mentioned early in their relationship that he used to have a job with Camelot.
“He wasn’t working, but he always seemed to have money,” he says.
“One thing I did think was strange was that he always had £50 notes in a cash box.
“I suspect now Eddie was giving him the money.
"Giles did have some money of his own – I once saw over his shoulder he had £12,000 in the bank.
"He always told me he had saved a lot of money and worked a lot when he was younger.”
Then came the day Giles almost blurted out his dark secret. In 2012 Olivier read in the Sunday Mirror that Putman had been given nine months for benefit fraud.
He recalls: “I said to Giles, ‘Why did Eddie need to do that when he’s a lottery winner?’
“Giles looked at me aggressively and then snapped back, ‘He never won the lottery!’ I asked him what he meant, but he wouldn’t say any more.
He said, ‘Just leave it’. But Eddie’s conviction changed Giles completely. He was livid about it and became very worried and depressed.
“It didn’t make sense to me then, but it obviously does now because he was drawing attention to himself and Giles.
"That was when him being a lottery winner came out in the Press.
“After Eddie got out of jail, Giles and Eddie would go up to Eddie’s office in his house for hours.
"I didn’t know at the time what they were talking about, but I suspect now it was the winnings and the split.”
It emerged at Putman’s trial that his friendship with Giles started breaking down after he reportedly gave him only £280,000 of the £2.5million prize.
Olivier soon noticed the pair were no longer speaking.
He says: “By 2015, we began seeing Eddie less and less. I asked Giles why and he said it was because Eddie owed him a lot of money.
“He didn’t tell me how much he owed him. I guess he couldn’t because it wouldn’t have made any sense.”
Then the simmering tension between the two fraudsters blew up.
In July 2015 Putman – who had served seven years in the early Nineties for raping a teenager – went to police and claimed Giles had blackmailed him “over six years” for a sum “in the region of £400,000”.
He also accused Giles of burglary and criminal damage, smashing his car and CCTV system before fleeing with a mobile.
Olivier said: “I found a letter from the police which had all the allegations against Giles. I confronted him, but he was petrified and I couldn’t get a word out of him.
"He wouldn’t tell me anything apart from, ‘I don’t know what came over me. I just got angry’.
“He was so laid back normally, but he was really worried about it and said, ‘I could go to jail’.
“Now I know it was the other allegations getting out he was worried about. He felt trapped. By August he was locking himself in his office for hours listening to depressive music.”
In September, Giles vanished. He drove to Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire and killed himself.
Olivier says: “The day after Giles disappeared, a friend of his knocked on the door. He said, ‘Can I come in? I need to tell you something’.
“It was like all of a sudden I had been thrown into a James Bond movie. It was surreal. But as crazy as it sounded, it all also made sense. I was crying and thinking, ‘How didn’t I spot this?’”
In his note, Giles told his lover of five years: “There is a lot I haven’t told you, and while I have wanted to on several occasions I have always stopped myself. I should have been more open with you I know, but that’s just the way I am.
“There is one last thing… You know that I have been having issues with Eddie recently and he may try and contact you. Do not approach or speak to him.
“In the unlikely event he tries to make contact with you, do not listen. He will lie about everything.
“He may appear sincere, concerned and even sympathetic, but I can assure you he is none of these things.
“Lock down your Facebook account and remove all photos of me at least for the next few months.”
It ended with the chilling words: “DESTROY THIS PAGE AFTER READING.”
Olivier believes his lover couldn’t cope with going to prison – or with what he had done.
“After he died I found audio books on his computer about dealing with guilt,” says Olivier.
“He was tortured and feeling under pressure. Now it began to torture me that Eddie had done something bad, but was still walking free spending the money.”
Olivier bravely testified in court against Putman. Giles had left behind evidence of Putman’s involvement in the fraud.
Now Olivier hopes the jail sentence will give him closure.
He says: “I’m glad Eddie has got what he deserves. For me it has closed a chapter. I’ve got justice now and I feel like the weight is finally off.
“I don’t want to hear from Eddie ever again. I’m going to burn all the photos I have of him.”
Prosecutors are launching a Proceeds of Crime case against Putman to try to recover the money.
“The important thing now is they take his assets.
“He will come out of prison with nothing,” says Olivier.
“His downfall came because he thought he was smarter than everyone else, but what he didn’t realise was Giles was smarter than him.
"Giles was always a very caring person and took care of others more than himself.
“I want him to be remembered as a very outgoing and giving person, who made a stupid mistake. I’ll always love him.
“I hope me telling Giles’s story will help other people spot the signs to avoid their loved ones from committing suicide.”
The Samaritans is available 24/7 if you need to talk. You can contact them for free by calling 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org or head to the website to find your nearest branch. You matter.