California Police have arrested a man accused of stealing a winning lottery ticket from his roommate as he slept. Police say Adul Saosongyang attempted to claim the $10,000,000 prize on Monday after stealing it from his friend, but they arrested him as he turned up to claim the prize.
Police in Vacaville, California, about 35 miles from Sacramento were called by the victim, who bought a $30 scratch off ticket at a Lucky Grocery Story in December. The victim, who has asked not to be named was trying to win a little extra cash for the holidays. At first he thought he had won $10,000 and returned home to share the news with his two roommates.
The next day, the winner went to collect his fortune but was told by lottery officials that his ticket was not a winner. Suspecting that his roommate had swapped the tickets while he slept, he immediately called the police to report the theft.
The following day his roommate, Mr Saosongyang turned up at the Lottery’s Sacramento district office to claim the prize where he was arrested for theft by police.
Now Californian Lottery investigators will launch a routine investigation and as such the ticket is frozen and so the original winner cannot claim the prize either. The police and lottery investigators are working on the assumption that Mr Saosongyang stole the ticket and replaced it with a similar scratch off ticket, hoping to get away with stealing the prize. Until this issue is resolved and the investigation is complete, no one can claim the prize.
We’re sure the winner is hoping this issue is soon resolved so he can go back to celebrating his good fortune and his $10,000,000 lottery win.