Million Dollar Fish winner Keegan Payne apologises to former boss for stealing vehicles

A teenager who became an instant millionaire after winning a fishing competition has made a shocking confession on live television.

Keegan Payne made headlines across Australia on Sunday after hooking a barramundi worth $1 million in Katherine, 317km south of Darwin.

His catch was tagged as part of a nine-year Million Dollar Fish fishing competition.

However, his festivities were interrupted on Wednesday morning by a harsh question from Sky News Australia presenter Peter Stefanovic.

Mr Stefanovic asked point blank if there was any truth to the rumors that Keegan had once stolen an all-terrain vehicle and a quad bike from a company.

In a stunning admission, Keegan said the accusation was true – and issued a heartfelt apology to his old boss for stealing from him.

“There are claims online that you and your friends stole and damaged a Polaris Ranger and Polaris quad bike from a company a few years ago. First of all, is that true?’ asked Peter Stefanovic.

Mr Payne replied: ‘Yes’.

“So, what happened?” Stefanovic asked.

Keegan, who looked genuinely remorseful, told Stefanovic that he and his friend were “not thinking at the time” and that he was “deeply sorry” for his actions.

Daily Mail Australia can now reveal the teenager has reconnected with his old boss, Bob Cavanagh of Cav’s Mowing, and has offered to pay him back for the stolen vehicles.

“This morning his dad called me out of the blue and said, ‘Keegan wants to pay you back,’ and you could have knocked me out with a feather,” Cavanagh said.

“He said Keegan always felt so terrible for what he did.”

Mr Cavanagh took Keegan on as a laborer for his ground maintenance company when he was 15.

But during the Covid lockdowns, Mr Cavanagh decided to move to Queensland, leaving his equipment unattended.

Keegan and a friend took the opportunity to steal his quad bike and buggy.

“They were only sixteen, you know. There aren’t many of us who go through life without screwing something up somewhere along the way,” Mr Cavanagh said.

“If you can get a second chance, I was willing to do it for those two guys. I hope they made the best of it.

“There’s no point in going through this life with grudges.”

Mr Cavanagh said the theft was a ‘one-off’ mistake by an otherwise ‘good boy’.

“Things went really well for Keegan. We trained him in different things, and then came the first Covid lockdown in the Northern Territory,” he added.

“It’s been a tough time for everyone, but I think it’s been a tough time for Keegan and his mates in particular.”

“When I realized he had stolen the vehicles and joined the dots, I took on the difficult task of calling his father, who I have known for more than 20 years.

‘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 received another call half an hour later and was told Keegan had admitted taking the quad bike and buggy.

“I organized a meeting at my house with the two boys and their parents and we sat under a tree at home and talked,” he said.

‘We had quite large contracts that we had to take care of and I asked him: how are we going to do that now?

‘It was about showing the consequences [for what] they had done. Keegan felt terrible, you know.”

Keegan and his friend agreed to work for Mr Cavanagh on weekends to pay him back for the damage they caused, but the plan fell through after two weekends due to a lull in business.

‘He eventually became a caretaker in a retirement 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 had done,” Cavanagh said.

Keegan became a celebrity on Tuesday when he accepted the $1 million prize for his 67cm barramundi.

‘This is crazy for us. We are a big family. There are eight of us. This is more money than we could ever ask for. This is just amazing,” he said during the check presentation.

‘It means so much. This is a unique opportunity for me. I’m happy, very happy.’

He added: ‘I can buy what I want, maybe help my mum and dad with the mortgage loans,’ and said the family could now afford to go on holiday to America.

Mr Payne also plans to buy a new boat and a car this week.

More than 100 fish with special tags are released into Northern Territory waterways each season as part of a tourism campaign

Most of these fish are worth $10,000, while a select group will take home the $1 million top prize.