A man claiming to be the winner of California’s record-breaking $2,04 billion Powerball prize last year has filed a lawsuit against the lucky winner. He claims that the winning numbers had not been revealed when the ticket was stolen.
Edwin Castrowon a record-breaking prize in the November 20, 2022 draw. He was identified in February. He was “shocked” and “ecstatic”, and accepted the $997.6-million jackpot as a lump sum.
In the same month that he was identified a man by the name of Jose Rivera filed an civil complaint at Alhambra Superior Court, claiming he should have won.
The lawsuit was filed against Castro and The California State Lottery Commission as well as the state of California, along with a man named Urachi Romero who Rivera claimed had stolen his ticket.
According to the complaint, Jose Rivera bought a Powerball ticket worth $2,04 billion on November 7, 2022, at Joe’s Service Center, Altadena in California, a day before the draw.
Rivera claims that Romero took the ticket on that day. The complaint didn’t specify how the alleged theft happened.
According to the complaint, Rivera “made numerous requests and demanded to return the ticket” after Romero allegedly took it, but Romero refused.
The winning numbers were announced on Nov. 8, 2022, and Rivera asked Romero again to return the ticket. Romero, however, allegedly replied that “the ticket had been a loser” or that if he found the ticket they could split the winnings.
According to court documents, Rivera reported to the California Lottery the alleged theft and to law enforcement.
Edwin Castro, winner of Powerball, was announced by the California State Lottery Commission and the State of California on February 14. Lottery officials claimed they went through a thorough vetting procedure to ensure the ticket and claim was legitimate.
Three days later, Rivera filed a claim with the California Lottery at Santa Fe Springs, claiming that his ticket had been stolen.
The same day, his lawyer sent a complaint to the California Lottery alleging that Rivera’s winning ticket had been stolen.
The letter from California Lottery stated that “up until the announcement of February 14, 2023 Mr. Rivera was threatened with his winning ticket being destroyed if he didn’t agree to split the wins.”
Rivera’s complaint stated that he requested California Lottery preserve all footage showing the winning ticket purchased at Joe’s Service Center.
Rivera claims he is entitled to the jackpot. He says that he has suffered emotional damage, trespass (meaning using property without the owner’s consent) and intentional interference in future economic relations.
California Lottery stated that it will not comment on any pending lawsuits, but expressed its “utmost faith” in their organization’s selection process.
Carolyn Becker, Deputy Director of California Lottery and spokesperson for the state lottery, said that the California Lottery is confident Edwin Castro will be the winner of the $2.04 Billion prize from the Powerball draw in November 2022.
Online records show that a summons was issued on April 25, at a Hollywood Hills home worth $25.5 million, which was purchased in march.
According to a filing dated May 17, the person in the house allegedly told the process servers that they were serving Edwin Castro the wrong Edwin Castro.
An attorney for Castro filed a motion on Thursday to quash the service of summons. The summons stated that it was sent to Edwin H. Castro, the father of the actual Powerball winner Edwin G. Castro.
In a declaration that was attached to the motion of Edwin G. Castro (the actual jackpot winner), it stated that he had never received a summons personally. He admitted that the LA house where his father received service was his. In his application, he did not respond to the allegations regarding the ticket.
The hearing on this motion is scheduled for the 19th of July.
NBC News has contacted attorneys for Rivera Castro to get their comments. Romero could not be reached on Friday, as he had not filed a response to the court docket.
