California man arrested after stealing roommate's winning lottery ticket worth $10 million

VACAVILLE, Calif. – A California man was arrested Monday after attempting to cash in his roommate's winning lottery ticket worth $10 million, police said.

Investigators said it was December 20 when a Vacaville grocery store shopper purchased a $30 scratcher in the hopes of winning a little extra cash for the holidays. The ticket turned out to be a winner that the man initially thought was worth $10,000. He returned home and shared the news with his two roommates, police said.

The next morning, the man took his ticket to the Lottery’s District Office in Sacramento. According to investigators, he was not only told that his ticket was not a winner, but also that it had been altered. He immediately became suspicious of his roommates and reported a theft to the police department.

The next day, the man's roommate, 35-year-old Adul Saosongyang, attempted to cash the real winning ticket at the lottery office, police said. It was also at this point that Saosongyang learned the real value of the ticket was $10 million.

Lottery officials began their administrative investigation that is done on all winnings over $600. After reviewing surveillance video from the store where the winning ticket was purchased, they determined that Saosongyang had purchased a similar ticket, altered it, and swapped it with his roommate's original before trying to claim the prize.

On Monday, a lottery investigator invited Saosongyang to the lottery office to collect his winnings, but instead he was arrested by police.

Saosongyang was booked into the Sacramento County Jail on charges of grand theft. He will be transferred to the Solano County Jail later this week.

Lottery officials want to make sure that the true owner of the ticket will still be able to collect his $10 million.