Dad is in the dark that he won $1 million jackpot until detectives explain to him that his lottery ticket had been stolen

A Tennessee father had no idea that he had won a $1 million jackpot until the moment detectives told him that his lottery ticket had been stolen, according to authorities.

A lucky dad recently purchased two scratch-off lottery tickets at a Shell station in Murfreesboro. He reportedly asked the clerk to check if the tickets — $20 Diamond and Gold tickets — were winners.

'The feel-good side of this story is the [Antioch father] never knew he was the winner until we made contact with him. That is absolutely life-changing money.'

The clerk — identified by authorities as 23-year-old Meet Patel — allegedly told the dad that he had won $40 on one ticket, but the other ticket was not a winner.

Lt. Detective Steve Craig told WTVF-TV the ticket the dad was told was not a winner ended up "on top of the trash." Then when the dad departed the store, Craig said Patel "took the trash outside, and if you follow him on camera, you can see him grab the ticket and put it in his pocket."

However, the "losing" ticket was a million-dollar winner — and Patel allegedly attempted to claim the prize.

Craig noted, "He went to the lottery commission to claim the ticket as his own, but there were red flags, and they held onto the ticket."

Tennessee Lottery officials reviewed security footage from the Shell gas station and determined that the winning ticket was stolen.

Detective Dennis Ward told NBC News, "Mr. Patel is then seen later in the video celebrating in the store after scratching off the front of the ticket and learning it was a $1 million winner."

Craig explained, "It's pretty obvious. Good enough to put in front of 12 jurors, and they'll reach the same conclusion."

Patel was accused of stealing the million-dollar lottery ticket — a Class A felony — and was being held in the Rutherford County Jail on $100,000 bond after his arrest. Patel is scheduled to appear in court July 30.

Craig added, "The feel-good side of this story is the [Antioch father] never knew he was the winner until we made contact with him. That is absolutely life-changing money."

The dad requested that his identity not be revealed.

Craig gave some advice to those who play the lottery: "If you scratch off the front bar code, it will tell you if it’s a winner or not, regardless of whether you scratch off everything showing how much you won."

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