Powerball winner Edwin Castro will keep his record-breaking $2.04 billion prize after a California judge tossed a lawsuit from an envious rival who claimed the ticket was stolen from him. A Los Angeles County judge overruled a lawsuit filed by Jose Riviera last month, citing the lack of physical evidence – a literal ticket – court documents seen by TMZ state.
The lottery saga began when Jose Rivera, 43, claimed his winning ticket stolen in February 2023, which he allegedly purchased one day before the drawing. Rivera went on to sue Castro along with the California State Lottery Commission for the prize, which was the largest in US history. Defending his status as the alleged legitimate owner, Rivera accused his former landlord “Reggie” – Urachi F.
Romero – of taking the ticket from him and handing it on to Castro, in court documents seen by The Independent . Romero was captured on video stating: “I saw Jose Rivera with that ticket ..
. he showed it to me,” according to The New York Post . However, it is unclear how the ticket was passed on to Castro, the plaintiff said.
Castro’s attorney David De Paoli responded by claiming that he witnessed his client buying the ticket. “I have personally viewed the CCTV footage and it is crystal clear..
.Edwin Castro purchased the winning Powerball ticket without question,” the The New York Post reported him as saying. But the furor is finally over, as a judge ruled: “Players are solely responsible for securing their t.
