Megadeth Probes Plagiarism Claim In Annual Christmas Card Competition (Photo)

Megadeth is investigating this year's winner of the band's annual Christmas Card contest after receiving a plagiarism claim from an anonymous fan.

Megadeth contest plagiarism being investigated

Six days after announcing Jim Chadoulas of Athens, Greece as the first prize winner of the competition, Megadeth, on its official website, said they were notified by a fan in Brazil that the winning entry is not Chadoulas' original creation.

A post on the heavy metal band's official website reads: "This year, our winner Jim Chadoulas allegedly submitted the artwork of another artist. Although we were notified of the possible plagiarism by an anonymous fan in Brazil after the Christmas Day call was already placed, we are investigating this matter further. We stand by the fact that Jim is innocent until proven guilty, and if our winner did indeed use someone else's artwork, we will be notifying the second place winner to award him the first place prize and he will receive a phone call from Dave Mustaine. We hope to clear this up as quick as possible."

As part of his prize, Chadoulas received a phone call from Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine on Christmas Day. The prize also includes two meet 'n greet passes to meet Megadeth on tour and the 20th Anniversary edition of Megadeth's "Countdown To Extinction" 2-CD box set autographed by the band.