The winner of the most important ever lottery jackpot prize has been sued by a person who claims the fortunate man stole the profitable ticket from him.
Jose Rivera alleges he purchased a Powerball ticket at Joe’s Service Heart in Altadena, California, on November 7, a day earlier than the record-breaking $2.04billion drawing, in line with authorized paperwork obtained by TMZ.
Rivera claims {that a} man named Reggie stole the ticket from him the identical day and that he purchased it and that he tried to get it again after the numbers had been drawn. However Reggie mentioned the ticket didn’t comprise the profitable numbers and agreed to surrender half of the prize cash if discovered, in line with Rivera.
Then earlier this month, Edwin Castro was introduced because the winner of the jackpot. He didn’t seem in particular person for the announcement at a press convention and selected to gather it as a lump sum cost of about $997.6million. His id was saved secret for months after profitable earlier than being revealed.
The plaintiff reported the theft to the California State Lottery and to police. Rivera mentioned he ‘refused to be blackmailed’ and is looking for an investigation earlier than the cash is paid out to Castro.
Rivera lists Castro and Reggie as separate defendants. Rivera seeks to be declared winner of the jackpot and to gather damages.
A California Lottery spokesperson said that it’s ‘not authorized to investigate criminal activity among its players’ and that solely regulation enforcement can look into such allegations.
Lottery officers are restricted to answering questions and offering proof in police investigations, the spokesperson informed TMZ.
‘When it comes to the vetting process for big winners, California Lottery has the utmost confidence in its process for doing so,’ said the spokesperson.
‘California Lottery remains confident that Edwin Castro is the rightful winner of the $2.04 billion prize stemming from the Powerball drawing in November of 2022.’
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