Powerball winner Edwin Castro claims his VADER was wrongfully sued
Powerball winner Edwin Castro tries to get a lawyer to quash a man’s lawsuit against him who says the $2 billion lottery ticket was stolen from him and that the thief tried to blackmail him in exchange for the return it.
Castro’s lawyers also say the subpoena related to Jose Rivera’s lawsuit was mistakenly given to the millionaire’s father. Both Castro and Rivera say they bought the winning ticket at Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, California.
Edwin H. Castro Sr. said in an affidavit that a bailiff came to his home in Altadena on April 25 to present the subpoena and lawsuit. The Powerball winner shares a name with his father, but has a different middle initial.
“I told the process operator he was serving the wrong Edwin Castro, but he showed little concern,” says the elder Castro. The Powerball winner says he never received a subpoena.
Castro’s lawyers say there are no details in the legal documents about how the ticket came into his possession. Based on this, Castro’s lawyer asks a judge to quash the complaint.
Edwin Castro is facing a lawsuit alleging that his $2 billion Powerball lottery ticket was stolen
Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, California, where the ticket was purchased in November 2022
Castro has been spotted leaving a couch in a vintage Porsche and bought two homes in California for $29 million since taking home nearly $1 billion after taxes from his lottery winnings
In the suit, Rivera says he bought the ticket on November 8, the day before the draw. The ticket was then stolen by a man named Reggie. Reggie’s real name is Urachi F. Romero.
Rivera does not say exactly when Romero allegedly stole the ticket. In legal terms, his attorneys say prosecutors “fail to present facts that create a link between Edwin G. Castro and ‘Reggie.’
“There are no facts about how Edwin Castro came into possession of ‘Reggie’s winning Powerball ticket,” the complaint continued.
Rivera says Romero repeatedly refused to return the ticket. Romero said he would split the winnings with Rivera if he could find the ticket. He later told Rivera that the ticket was a loser.
Shortly after Castro was announced as the winner on February 14, Rivera filed complaints with the California Lottery in both Chatsworth and Santa Fe Springs. The Santa Fe office accepted his complaint.
He claims that until Castro was announced the winner, Romero threatened to destroy the ticket unless he agreed to split the winnings equally.
His lawyers are demanding that all surveillance videos from Joe’s Service Center be preserved from the day the ticket was purchased.
The winning ticket – 10, 33, 41, 47, 56 and Powerball 10 – was sold at the Altadena store, which also saw a $1 million payout for the historic win.
Castro’s new $25 million home in California, state lottery officials claim he’s rightful owner of lottery ticket
Castro’s new $4 million in Altadena, California, comes with its own home theater and expensive artwork
Castro has been living big since his win, buying two separate California mansions for a total of $29 million
The expansive 13,578-square-foot hillside property complete with a full outdoor kitchen, gym, wine cellar, and infinity pool
Rivera is seeking $2.04 billion in his lawsuit, the jackpot amount.
Service center employees told DailyMail.com there was little evidence to support the claims that the ticket was stolen.
“California Lottery has strict rules about how they choose a winner, this guy is crazy, he came in here with his lawyer screaming about it and there’s nothing we can do,” said one employee.
The employee added that lottery officials obtained surveillance video and went through it frame-by-frame for the vetted winner.
“When it comes to the vetting process for big winners, California Lottery has full confidence in its process to do this,” the California Lottery said in a statement to DailyMail.com.
“California Lottery remains confident that Edwin Castro is the rightful winner of the $2.04 billion prize resulting from the November 2022 Powerball drawing.”
At the time of the win, lottery director Alva Johnson said Castro wanted to remain private and declined an invitation from lottery officials to attend the press conference.
In a prepared statement, Castro said, “As much as I am shocked and ecstatic to have won the Powerball draw, the real winner is the California public school system.”
California public schools act as beneficiaries of the state lottery.
After months of anticipation, California Lottery Director Alva Johnson announced that Edwin Castro was the winner of November’s historic jackpot win. He chose to take a $997.6 million buyout
Castro bought his two houses down the street from his modest one-bedroom home in Altadena
It means the education system received more than $156 million as a result of the record-breaking win.
After winning, Castro took the buyout totaling $997.6 million after tax.
Center workers who sold the winning ticket weren’t so private as they celebrated their $1 million windfall.
Joe Chahayed, won $1 million for selling the record-breaking $2.04 billion Powerball ticket.
Chahayed said at the time that he would share the profits with his entire family.
Chahayed – the father-in-law of former NFL player Domata Peko – held a huge check outside his gas station next to his family in a “millionaire made here” shirt.
“We’re excited,” he said at a press conference with California Lottery last November.
“I will share it with family, with whatever it takes, with my children, my grandchildren. I have 11 grandchildren and I will share with them.’
His son, who was at the press conference, said “no one else deserves it more than this man.”
Castro has been living big since his win, buying two separate California mansions for a total of $29 million. He was also seen driving away from a couch in a vintage Porsche.
One of his new homes is a $4 million mansion in the Los Angeles area. The house comes with its own home theater, private office and expensive artwork, which is sure to be enhanced given Castro’s hefty new bank balance.
Altadena’s home is just a short drive from where Castro grew up.
When Castro gets tired of the $4 million estate, he’s only about 20 miles from his second California complex, which he bought for $25 million just eight days earlier.
The expansive 13,578-square-foot hillside property complete with a full outdoor kitchen, gym, wine cellar, and infinity pool.