LOS ANGELES – Becoming a millionaire can bring you a lot of heartache. The biggest jackpot winner in US lottery history is already starting to take on some.
The California Lottery announced the winner of Powerball’s historic jackpot on February 14.
Edwin Castro was the lucky newcomer to win over $2 billion after matching all 6 numbers: 10, 33, 41, 47, 56 and Powerball, 10.
Although he did not attend the press conference, Castro sent a statement enthusiastically accepting the lump sum of $997.6 million.
However, shortly after a week, the winner faces a lawsuit for alleged ticket theft.
According to legal documents obtained by Telemundo 52, José Rivera claims he was the person who purchased the lottery ticket at Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, Calif., on November 7, the day before the $2.04 billion Powerball mega draw.
In the 13-page document, Rivera claims a man named Reggie “stolen” his ticket earlier that day. In addition, he asserted that Reggie had told him that if he found the ticket he would give him half of the prize.
But Rivera claims in the lawsuit that he “refused extortion” and filed a theft complaint with the California Lottery demanding an investigation into the alleged theft before awarding the prize.
The lawsuit was filed against the California Lottery, “Reggie” and Edwin Castro, and seeks to have Rivera declared the jackpot winner.
However, the winner has already been announced by the California Lottery, although it is not yet clear if Castro actually won the prize.
Winner from Washington State.
Caroline Baker, a spokeswoman for the California Lottery, sent a statement saying:
“The California Lottery is not authorized to investigate criminal activity among its players; such complaints are subject to investigation by local police only. In the event that a local law enforcement agency investigates such allegations, the Lottery’s sole role is to assist with the matter by answering questions and / or provide evidence as permitted by law.”
Packer also said that “when it comes to the grand winner vetting process, the California Lottery has the utmost confidence in its process to do so. The California Lottery remains confident that Edwin Castro is the legitimate winner of the $2 billion prize derived from the November 2022 Powerball drawing.”
The lottery winner has already started to run into problems that have ended in tragedies in other historical cases.
