Edwin Castro, the Hispanic who won the most$2.04 billion from the May Powerball prize in November, and whose name was announced in the middle of this month,faces a lawsuit alleging he stole the winning ticket.
Another Hispanic namedJose Rivera assures that it was he, and not Edwin Castro, who bought the lottery ticket at the grocery store.Joe’s Service Center in the Los Angeles County city of Altadena on November 7, 2022, the day before the largest Powerball drawing in the prize's history.
According to the California Lottery,The entity does not get involved in player lawsuits.
However, according to the rules, they must conduct an investigation that includes a video inside the store authorized for the sale of tickets, in order to verify the authenticity of the winner.
Rivera filed a lawsuit for alleged ticket theft and verification failures by the California Lottery.
According to the lawsuit document - cited by the local press - Rivera would have bought the winning ticket but a guy nicknamed "Reggie" stole it from him on November 7, the same day he bought it.
The plaintiff alleges that, after the drawing, he asked "Reggie" to return the ticket, but he refused, insisting that the ticket was not the winning one.
After Rivera's insistence, "Reggie" agreed to return the ticket in exchange for splitting the prize 50/50, which the supposed winner refused. The Hispanic man claims that the same day he informed the Lottery of the theft.
Three months later, the Hispanic man has filed a lawsuit for theft against "Reggie" and the document also includes Edwin Castro, who apparently is not the same person and was the one announced as the winner. The lawsuit also includes the California Lottery.
On February 14, the California lottery identified Edwin Castro as the only winner of the 2,040 million from the drawing on November 8.
The California Lottery released a statement about the lawsuit.
“The California Lottery is not authorized to investigate criminal activity among its players; Such complaints are subject to investigation only by local police. "Should a local law enforcement agency investigate such allegations, the Lottery's only role is to assist in the matter by answering questions and/or providing evidence as permitted by law," said Carolyn Becker, California Lottery spokesperson. .
Bucker further said that “when it comes to the process of vetting big winners, the California Lottery has the utmost confidence in their process for doing so. “The California Lottery remains confident that Edwin Castro is the rightful winner of the $2 billion prize derived from the Powerball drawing in November 2022.”
Although you can receive a lump sum or an annuity, California Lottery officials reported thatEdwin Castro preferred the single payment of $997 million.
According toUSA Mega, after final IRS withholdings, the winner will receive $628.5 million.
Waiting to see what the claim is in progress, the lucky guy from California went directly to the top of the list of the biggest winners in Powerball history, as he has won almost half a billion dollars more than the previous record: 1,586 million that were divided between three tickets in January 2016.
Powerball is played in 45 states, as well as Washington DC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. It costs two dollars a ticket and the chance of success is one in 292.2 million. Drawings take place every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET.
To participate in the draw it is necessary to choose five numbers between 1 and 59, in addition to a sixth number between 1 and 35, which is called Powerball.
The ticket to participate costs two dollars and the drawings are every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. You can pay an extra amount, called "Powerplay" so that, if you win, your winnings are multiplied by two, three, five or ten.
Although the chance of winning the jackpot has been estimated to be one in 292.2 million, reality shows that it is not impossible.
The five Powerball jackpots:
1. $2,040 million – November 7, 2022 – CA
2. $1,586 million – January 13, 2016 – CA, FL, TN
3. $768.4 million – March 27, 2019 – WI
4. $758.7 million – August 23, 2017 – MA
5. $754.6 million – February 6, 2023 - WA
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