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Louise Thomas

Editor

A store clerk was arrested for theft in Tennessee after he stole a dad’s winning lottery ticket and tried to claim the $1m prize himself, authorities claim.

Meet Patel, 23, was charged with theft of over $250,000, according to the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office.

The real winner bought two winning Diamond and Gold scratch-off lottery tickets for $20 each at a Shell gas station in Murfreesboro, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

The customer scratched off the front bar codes and asked Patel to check if they were winning tickets.

The customer did not know how much the tickets were worth, so Patel gave him a smaller prize and threw the winning tickets in the trash.

He told the man that one of the tickets had won $40. He pretended the other ticket was a loser when, in fact, it was a million-dollar winner.

Patel was seen on store surveillance footage taking the winning ticket out of the trash and putting it in his pocket.

He’s then seen on video celebrating in the store.

After Patel tried to claim the prize, lottery officials were suspicious and began investigating, including watching the store video.

Patel is being held on a $100,000 bond.

The rightful owner was unaware of his lottery winnings until he was contacted by Detective Lieutenant Steve Craig of the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office.

"That is absolutely life-changing money," Craig told NewsChannel 5.

The father, who chose to remain anonymous, had to be convinced that the win was real.

“He was very thankful,” Craig said.

Patel is being held on $100,000 bond at Rutherford County Adult Detention Center.

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