Adul Saosongyang was arrested and charged with grand theft for allegedly stealing his roommate's $10 million lottery ticket.
A California man has been arrested for allegedly stealing his roommate's $10 million lottery ticket, police said.
Adul Saosongyang, 35, was taken into custody earlier this week when he tried to claim the prize at a state lottery office, according to the Vacaville Police Department.
"But instead of him celebrating his big win, he was arrested," the department said in a statement. "That's definitely not the prize he was expecting."
The roommate, who has not been identified, purchased a $30 scratch-off ticket on Dec. 20 at a local grocery store. He mistakenly thought he had won only $10,000 and went home to tell his two housemates the good news, police said.
He put the slip in a jacket pocket and went to bed. The next day he went to a state lottery office in Sacramento to collect his jackpot, but was told his ticket was not a winner, authorities said.
Suspecting one of his roommates had stolen the winning ticket, he reported to police that his slip had been stolen.
One day later, Saosongyang went to cash in the ticket and was told it was actually worth $10 million. But according to lottery regulations, an investigation is conducted for all winnings above $600.
A lottery agent and the Vacaville Police Department worked together on the case, after lottery officials were told the ticket had been reported stolen.
After viewing surveillance video at the grocery store where the winning ticket had been purchased, investigators determined that Saosongyang had entered the same market and purchased a scratch-off lottery ticket after learning his roommate's good news, police said.
Investigators said Saosongyang switched the lottery tickets while his roommate slept.
On Monday, Saosongyang was contacted by lottery officials and told to come pick up his money, police said. He was arrested there by Vacaville Police detectives.
He is being held at the Sacramento County Jail, police said.
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