A man is suing the winner of a $2 billion lottery prize, claims the ticket belongs to him
It was a lottery prize of such magnitude that it even made it to the Guinness World Records. Now a lawsuit alleges that the USD$2 billion winning ticket was actually stolen, according to NBC News.
After over three months without a winner, someone finally won the massive Powerball prize in the November 7, 2022, draw. The lucky winner was California resident Edwin Castro who claimed the life-changing prize in February. The 30-year-old opted for the lump sum, which, after taxes came out to $997.6 million.
Despite wanting to keep his identity a secret, media outlets reported that Castro had invested his money in real estate and published photos of the multimillionaire enjoying his win and driving around town in a vintage Porsche.
But now a man has come forward accusing Castro of stealing the winning lottery ticket.
The Toidi/Shutterstock
In February, Jose Rivera filed a civil complaint stating that the jackpot actually belongs to him. The suit was filed against Castro and another man named Urachi F. Romero.
According to the complaint, Rivera had purchased the winning ticket from Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, California, and alleges that Romero had stolen the ticket.
Rivera’s former landlord supports his claim, according to the New York Post. Urachi “Reggie” Romero said that his former tenant had shown him the Powerball ticket the day he bought it from Joe’s Service Center.
“I could be grimy or sheisty, but in reality, Jose Rivera did show me that ticket before he knew it was the winning ticket,” Romero said. “But I don’t know how he lost that ticket.”
Although the lawsuit doesn’t detail how the theft happened, Rivera stated that he made “numerous requests and demands to return it.”
Rivera has asked California Lottery to preserve video footage of the ticket being purchased and states that he has suffered emotional damages.
California Lottery maintains that it has “utmost confidence” in its vetting process and declined to comment on the lawsuit.
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