'Storage Wars' star says he sold unit with $7.5 million inside for $500

The buyer of a storage unit purchased from “Storage Wars” star Dan Dotson for just $500 discovered a whopping $7.5 million in cash inside.

Dotson, the owner of American Auctioneers who also regularly appears on the A&E reality show, was at the Cars, Stars and Rock N’ Roll Charity Auction in California earlier this month when a woman approached him and explained a friend of her husband bought a unit from him in October.

“She says, ‘There was a safe in the unit. The first guy couldn’t open it, so they called a second guy and there was $7.5 million,’ and I say, ‘$7.5 million?’ and she says, ‘Cash,’” Dotson recalled during an interview with the Desert Sun.

An attorney contacted the buyer a short time later, explaining he represented the people who originally owned the unit.

He initially offered the buyer a $600,000 reward to return the cash, though they eventually settled on $1.2 million and the new owner vowed to return the remaining $6.3 million.

That’s a $1,499,500 profit for the man, who Dotson declined to name, citing safety reasons.

Dotson’s co-star, Bargain Hunters Thrift Store owner Rene Nezhoda said he would be shocked if the money was not Mafia or Cartel-related.

“If you find money like that, there’s probably a reason it wasn’t in the bank,” he told the Blast.

On whether he would take the $1.2 million reward, Dotson said he would, but only because he wouldn’t want to deal with the former owners.

“I wouldn’t ask a damn thing,” he said. “$7.5 million is a lot of money… but that’s a lot of running too.”

His wife, Laura Dotson, echoed the sentiment.

“I would feel so worried,” she explained. “I feel like it wouldn’t be clean money.”

The sale of the storage unit was not filmed as part of “Storage Wars,” as it was a routine sale through the couple’s Calimesa-based company in California.