Documentary: The Lottery Liar

May 9, 2017, 8:54 am (9 comments)

UK National Lottery

Includes video report

This is the incredibly strange tale of Howard and his wife Kathy Walmsley.

One day back in the late 90's Howard told Kathy a whopper of a lie — that he won a £8.9 million (US$11.5 million) jackpot in the British National Lottery.  And Kathy believed him.

As a result the two went on a shopping spree, buying fast cars, a dream home and a lifestyle fit for a multi-millionaire — but it was all one big deception, as Howard hadn't actually won a single penny.

The film was created with the full cooperation of the couple, and with exclusive access to interviews of the pair we learn just how ridiculous the whole thing was, as Howard managed to deceive not only his wife but his family, friends, and their bank manager.

As a result of his lie, Howard later was sentenced to three years in prison for fraud, but Kathy pledged to stand by her man regardless.

Howard claims that the whole lie was conjured up in order to save his marriage, making the story both hilarious and pitifully sad.

Featuring the couple's own videos and stills of their celebration party, their holiday to the Canaries and their first visit to their dream home, this documentary is an amazing watch.

VIDEO: Watch the full documentary

Real Stories, Lottery Post Staff

Comments

Raven62's avatarRaven62

ROFL Coffee

music*'s avatarmusic*

 I am grateful that this couple helped make this video. 

 It shows how shallow some of his new friends were. They loved him while he was picking up the tab. Especially for drinks. Then they turned on him when the truth came out.

 Howard did hurt some people. Especially the owners of the home he wanted to buy. 

 Howard did have a mistress who he conned out of 30,000.00 pounds. 

 I take the Detectives seriously when they say, "Howard will go straight for a total of two and a half hours of freedom. Then he will be back as a conman." 

No Pity!

noise-gate

Totally irresponsible behavior.

music*'s avatarmusic*

Quote: Originally posted by noise-gate on May 9, 2017

Totally irresponsible behavior.

I Agree!  The banks, the car dealers, the pool salesman, pool table dealer, all believed Howard.

 He was called a con-merchant there. In prison, his nickname was Bonus Ball. 

 Each one of us must use our, "spidey sense" to see a con for what he/she really is. A conman is always on the run from his last con job. But at the same time, he could take a couple of years to con his victim.

 Lottery winners are at the top of the list of con-men and con-women. I would not be surprised to find out how much money was lost by past winners to these professional thieves. 

 There may be hope for Howard and Kathy in that he did not flee to another city. He stayed home to face the consequences of his past activity. 

Dance

TheGameGrl's avatarTheGameGrl

Hey! He found a way to move into a big house! Not the kind he wanted but the big house non the less.

Can't fathom realistically how he acquired any of his toys with zero money in hand.

Unluckyone's avatarUnluckyone

Wonder how many of these mindless fantasies are being perpetrated these days? I could see some desperate individual over extending his or herself until they hit it "big". That guy has a mental illness that I doubt will be cured.

LiveInGreenBay's avatarLiveInGreenBay

What a weird story.  Didn't anyone check if there was actually a winner on that day?  LOL

HAMMY WAMMY's avatarHAMMY WAMMY

Thanks for posting the full length documentary :]

jazam1

Quite an old story so unsure why it's been picked up again now. He paid a cheque for millions into his account, printed a balance slip from an ATM before it bounced and fooled a car dealership with his bank 'balance'.

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