A 35-year-old California man was supposed to be picking up a $10-million cheque on Monday. Instead, he was picked up by police.
The man was arrested because the lottery ticket he was trying to claim had allegedly been stolen from his roommate, investigators in Vacaville, Calif., say.
The Vacaville Police Department said in a post on Facebook Tuesday that the $30 scratch-off lottery ticket was bought on Dec. 20. Initially, the winner thought it was worth $10,000.
He told his two roommates about the win and tried to claim his prize the next morning. He was told by lottery officials, however, that the ticket wasn’t a winner and had been altered.
“He suspected one of his roommates must have stolen his winning ticket while he was sleeping and immediately reported the theft to the police department,” the police force said.
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The next day, the real ticket was allegedly presented by the winner’s roommate at a lottery office — where he was told the ticket was really worth $10 million, not $10,000.
Lottery officials then conducted a routine investigation into the winnings, and after learning the ticket may have been stolen, worked with police to determine what had happened.
The suspect, Adul Saosongyang, was invited to collect his prize on Monday, but police were waiting for him at the district lottery office. He was arrested on a warrant for grand theft.
A California Lottery official told KCRA that whoever is determined to be the true owner of the ticket will be able to collect the prize money.