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A California man who won the record-breaking $2 billion Powerball jackpot last year could face the court to defend his winnings.
The winner of the $2.04 billion Powerball lottery in California last year is being sued by a man claiming his ticket was stolen before the drawing.
In February 2022, Edwin Castro was named the winner of the record-setting prize. At the time, he described himself as "shocked and elated" and chose to receive the windfall as a $997.6 million lump sum, NBC News reported.
Powerball Winner Accused of Stealing Winning Ticket
In the same month that he was identified, a man named Jose Rivera filed a civil complaint in Alhambra Superior Court alleging that the winnings should belong to him. Rivera filed a lawsuit against Castro, the California State Lottery Commission, the state of California, and Urachi F. Romero, whom he accused of stealing his lottery ticket
According to the complaint, Rivera purchased the $2.04 billion Powerball lottery ticket on November 7 at Joe's Service Center in Altadena, California, one day before the drawing.
Rivera said Romero stole the ticket on the same day. The complaint lacked specifics regarding how the alleged larceny occurred. After allegedly taking the ticket, Rivera made "numerous requests and demands" for Romero to return it, but Romero refused.
On November 8, the lucky numbers were drawn, and Rivera again requested that Romero return the winning ticket. Rivera reported the alleged larceny to the California Lottery and law enforcement.
The California State Lottery Commission and the state of California proclaimed Castro as the Powerball victor on February 14. Lottery officials stated they conducted a verification procedure to ensure the legitimacy of the ticket and claim.
Castro has since acquired two multimillion-dollar California properties and a vintage Porsche convertible for $250,000. However, Rivera asserts that he reported the larceny to the police and the California Lottery and repeatedly attempted to contact the agency about his concerns, NY Post reported.
He believes store surveillance images will prove his case and has requested that the state lottery agency "make all video depicting the purchase of the winning ticket accessible for our evaluation."
In the latest development in an already peculiar case, Castro is attempting to disprove that he was duly served with court documents. Castro's father, who shares the same first and last names but a different middle initial, was inadvertently sued and served by Rivera's legal team.
His motion states, "The Edwin Castro who was served was not the recipient of the Powerball winnings referenced in the Complaint."
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Powerball Jackpot Winner Edwin Castro Files a Motion
Meanwhile, Castro has filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that he stole his $2 billion golden ticket. In the filing, Castro's attorney, David De Paoli, argued that the accused, Jose Rivera, brazenly lied about serving the minted billionaire and served the wrong Edwin Castro.
On May 17, a proof of service was filed indicating that Castro's court documents were allegedly delivered to his new $25 million residence in the Hollywood Hills and received by an unidentified male. Per The Sun, the summons, complaint, and other case-related documents were delivered to a Hispanic individual in his 50s at Castro's listed address above Sunset Strip on April 25.
Castro's legal team, however, refuted the plaintiff's claims, stating that the documents were delivered to their client's childhood home in Altadena, not his residence in Hollywood Hills.
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