(TheRedAlertNews.com) – A man who won $2 billion from the California Powerball lottery has been served papers in a lawsuit claiming he stole the winning ticket.
Edwin Castro, who became a lottery billionaire last year, was served the court papers in his $25.5 million mansion in Hollywood Hills earlier this month, The US Sun reports, as cited by The New York Post.
On April 25, the two process servers were met by a man in his 50s who tried to prevent the serving of the papers.
“The subject said we are serving the wrong Edwin Castro. I advised the subject to contact the attorney if any questions or concerns,” court documents reveal.
The servers filed proof of service on May 17, noting that the lottery winner finally took the papers.
According to the lawsuit launched in 2022, Castro stole the ticket from Jose Rivera, the man who had bought it.
Rivera alleges he bought the winning ticket at an Altadena gas station on November 7, before the drawing of the record $2.04 billion jackpot the following day.
The man further claims his ticket was nabbed by a man named Urachi F. Romero, also known as Reggie, the same day.
Romero is listed in the Alhambra Superior Court case as a co-defendant with Castro.
However, the lawsuit does not reveal details about the alleged ticket theft, especially how the ticket went from Romero to Castro.
According to the report, Romero told Rivera had lost the ticket and couldn’t return. However, he said he would split the winnings if he found it.
Rivera argues he “refused to be blackmailed” and told law enforcement and the commission about the theft.
According to Rivera, surveillance footage from the station, Joe’s Service Station, would prove who bought the winning ticket. The California Lottery has taken the footage.
Castro came forward with the ticket in February, taking a lump-sum cash payment of $997.6 million.
“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,” a lottery spokesperson said at the time.
