A teenager who became an instant millionaire after winning a fishing competition has made a shock admission on live TV.
Keegan Payne made headlines around Australia on Sunday morning after hooking a barramundi worth $1 million in Katherine, 317km south of Darwin. His catch was tagged as part of a nine-year-long Million Dollar Fish angling competition.
However, his celebrations were interrupted by a harsh question from Sky News’ Peter Stefanovic on Wednesday morning.
‘There is a claim online that you stole a Polaris Ranger and Polaris quad that you and your friends stole and damaged from a business a few years back, first of all, is that true?’ Peter Stefanovic asked.
Mr Payne responded, ‘Yes’.
So, what happened?,’ Stefanovic continued.
The teenager, looking upset, told Stefanovic he and his friend ‘weren’t thinking at the time’ and he regretted his actions ‘big time’.
Daily Mail Australia can now reveal that the teen got in touch with his old boss , Bob Cavanagh, from Cav’s Mowing, and will pay him back for the vehicles he stole.
‘Out of the blue this morning, his father rang me and said, “Keegan wants to repay you” and you could have knocked me down with a feather,’ Mr Cavanagh told Daily Mail Australia.
‘He said Keegan has always felt so terrible for what he did,’ Mr Cavanagh said.
Keegan Payne (pictured) won $1million was hooking a 67cm barramundi in a Northern Territory fishing competition
The teenager will repay his boss after stealing two vehicles from him
He took on Mr Payne as a worker for his ground maintenance business when he was 15.
However, during the Covid lockdowns Mr Cavanagh decided he wanted to move to Queensland, leaving his equipment unsupervised. Mr Payne and a friend took the opportunity to take his quad and buggy.
‘They were only 16, you know, there’s not too many of us go through life without stuffing up somewhere along the line.
‘If you can be given a second chance – that’s what I was prepared to do for those two boys. I hope they have made the best of it.
‘There’s no point going through this life carrying grudges.’
Mr Cavanagh explained the theft was a ‘one off’ mistake from an otherwise ‘good kid’.
Keegan Payne (pictured) thought the 67-centimetre barramundi he reeled in from the Katherine River on Sunday would make a nice meal for his family
‘Keegan was going very well. We were training him in different things , and then the first COVID lockdown came in the Northern Territory.
‘It was a difficult time for everybody, but I think it was particularly difficult for Keegan and his mates.’
‘When I became aware of him stealing the vehicles and joined the dots, I made the difficult task of calling his father – who I’ve known for over 20 years,’ Mr Cavanagh said.
‘I had to say, “Look, I think your young lad has been involved in a theft” and he said, “Oh, that explains it, he’s been very quiet”.’
Mr Cavanagh got another call half an hour later and was told Mr Payne had admitted to taking the quad and buggy.
‘I organised a meeting at my place with the two boys and their parents and we sat down under a tree at home and we had a talk,’ he said.
‘We had some quite big contracts that we needed to look after and I asked him, how are we going to do that now?’.
‘It was about showing the consequence that they had done. Keegan felt terrible, you know.’
The teenagers agreed to work for Mr Cavanagh on weekends to repay him for the damage they caused, but it fell through after two weekends due to a lull in business.
‘He ended up being like a janitor at an aged care home. I saw him eight to 12 months later and he still couldn’t look at me, he was just so ashamed of what he’d done,’ Mr Cavanagh said.
Mr Payne said his family (pictured) can now afford to take a holiday and is planning a trip to America
Mr Payne made headlines across Australia after collecting the $1million prize for his 67cm barramundi on Tuesday.
‘This is crazy for us. We’re a big family. There’s eight of us. This is more money than we could ever ask for. This is just great,’ Mr Payne said at the ceremony.
‘It means so much. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me. I’m happy, really happy.
He added that ‘I can buy what I want, maybe help dad and mum out with the home loans,’ and said the family can now afford to take a holiday and is planning a trip to America.
Mr Payne also intends to buy a new boat and a car this week
Each season, over a hundred fish with special tags are set free into waterways throughout the Northern Territory as part of a tourism campaign
Most of these fish hold a value of $10,000, while a select few carry the grand prize of $1 million.
Mr Cavanagh described Mr Payne (pictured winning the prize money) as a ‘good kid’ who made a ‘one off’ mistake
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