California Man Claims He Won $2,04 Billion in Powerball, But His Ticket Was Stolen

A California man claims that the winning $2,04 billion Powerball ticket belonged to him, but it was stolen. He sued the alleged thief, which he writes about New York Post.

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The plaintiff, José Rivera, alleges that he bought a lucky lottery ticket at Joe's Service Center in Altadena on November 7, the day before the historic draw.

According to Rivera, the man he named Reggie somehow stole the Powerball ticket from him that same day. The complaint reportedly does not explain the circumstances of the alleged theft.

After the draw, Rivera said that he approached this Reggie and tried to return his ticket, but the man stated that all six numbers on the ticket did not match, but even if they did, he only agreed to split the prize 50/50.

In his lawsuit, Rivera alleges that he "gave up blackmail" and reported the alleged theft to law enforcement and the California State Lottery, demanding an investigation before the jackpot was awarded.

On the subject: Lucky squared: how people win lottery jackpots multiple times in a row

On Valentine's Day, February 14 - three months after the unprecedented lottery draw - a man named Edwin Castro has been declared the winner of the biggest jackpot in history.

Lottery officials said only Castro matched all six Powerball numbers after purchasing a ticket from Joe's Service Center.

Castro, who did not attend the press conference to announce the winner, chose to receive a lump sum cash payment of $997,6 million.

Rivera's lawsuit lists Castro and "Reggie" as two separate defendants, but provides no further information about their alleged involvement in the theft.

Rivera asks the court to pay damages and declare him the rightful owner of the jackpot.

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CA Lottery spokeswoman Carolyn Becker spoke about the organization's process of verifying the winners of the main prizes.

“The California Lottery remains confident that Edwin Castro is the rightful owner of the $2,04 billion Powerball prize in November 2022,” she said.

Becker added that the California Lottery “is not authorized to investigate criminal activity among its players; such allegations are subject to investigation only by local law enforcement.”

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