A Californian hit the jackpot when he won an astounding $2 billion from Powerball.
However, now those winnings are part of a lawsuit. The winner was served papers at his Hollywood Hills estate claiming the ticket as stolen.
According to N.Y. Post, "A pair of process servers arrived on April 25 at lucky lottery billionaire Edwin Castro's palatial estate where amenities include seven bedrooms, an infinity pool, and a spa and were greeted by a man in his 50s who initially tried to dodge the suit, the U.S. Sun reported, citing court filings."
First, Castro tried to dodge the papers, saying they had the wrong guy. Eventually, he must have taken the forms. On May 17, officials filed a proof of service.
The suit was filed earlier this year by Jose Rivera. He alleges that he was the one that bought the ticket, and then Castro stole it from him. According to Rivera, he purchased the ticket at a gas station in Altadena. According to the N.Y. Post, "Rivera claims it was nabbed by a man called "Reggie" that same day who has since [been] identified as Urachi F. Romero and [is] listed as a co-defendant in the Alhambra Superior Court case."
Rivera further claims that Romero says he lost the ticket but promised to split the winnings if he found it. However, the theft details are shady, and the lawsuit doesn't say how the Powerball ticket made it from Romero to Castro.
They request that the video of the person purchasing the ticket becomes available to prove who bought the winning ticket.
Castro, on the other hand, is enjoying his winnings. He took a lump sum payment, bought a beautiful Porsche, and a couple of multi-million dollar mansions. The California Lottery maintains that Castro is the rightful winner and says they have confidence in that statement.
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