The Latino who won the largest prize in the history of the Powerball lottery in California (2,040 million dollars) received in one of the mansions he bought with that money, located in the Hollywood hills, the judicial notification that he is being sued by another Hispanic who accuses him of stealing his lucky ticket.
The Powerball announced on February 14 that Edwin Castro was the winner of the historic prize, but a few days later it was learned that José Rivera, also from California, sued him to claim the prize. Notifying him officially was not, however, easy, according to documents to which the newspaper had access. The Sun.
Officials who showed up on April 25 to the $25.5 million luxury property that Castro bought in March were greeted by a 50-year-old man who initially refused notification, court documents show. “The subject said that we are serving the wrong Edwin Castro,” they point out.
For Castro, the lawsuit is not new, since the other Latino who accuses him of being a thief made his complaint publicly in February, just days after the Powerball announced the winner.
The three-story mansion where the notice to Castro was attempted was purchased in March in the Hollywood Hills, and has five bedrooms, six bathrooms, a game room, a wine cellar, a movie theater, a bar, a gym, sauna and a huge swimming pool, as reported by the Los Angeles Times newspaper. They are 15,000 square feet with neighbors like the singer Ariana Grande, the actress Dakota Johnson and the presenter Jimmy Kimmel, among others.
The officers’ second visit, according to the documents, was on May 17, and an unidentified man took the notification, thus making official notice of the lawsuit.
What is Castro accused of?
The lawsuit was filed in February in a Los Angeles court by José Rivera, who says he bought his Powerball ticket on November 7 at Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, the place where the winning ticket was sold. That same day, he denounces, a person identified as Reggie stole his ticket; he would later be revealed as the winner of the Powerball. The lawsuit alleges Rivera tried to get it back, but Reggie refused to return it.
The document does not provide details on how the alleged robbery occurred or the relationship between the plaintiff and Edwin Castro. José Rivera asks that he be compensated for damages and affirms that he contacted the California Lottery to ask it to rectify the results.
“The California Lottery is not authorized to investigate criminal activity reported by players; such accusations are subject to investigation only by local police,” Carolyn Becker, a spokeswoman for the Lottery, told the local NBC News station in Los Angeles at the time. Becker indicated that the Lottery “has the utmost confidence” in its processes for selecting winners. She explained that there is a strict control of the people who show up with their tickets to claim a prize.
Who is Castro and how much did he get his prize
Castro did not want to appear publicly to claim his prize, as many winners do out of concern for their safety. It is only known that he opted for a single payment of 997.6 million dollars.
Castro claimed his prize more than three months after purchasing the ticket, and his identity was disclosed by California Lottery employees on February 14, when he issued his statement. “As much as I am shocked and ecstatic to win the lottery, the real winner is the Public School System,” Castro said, referring to a law that requires the California Lottery to provide supplemental funding to public schools through the revenue from your sales.
“As someone who was fortunate enough to be educated in the California public education system, it is gratifying to hear that the School System also benefits greatly as a result of my award,” Castro concluded in his statement.
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Castro opted for a one-time payment of $997.6 million (after taxes). In addition to the $25.5 million luxury property in the Hollywood Hills, he reportedly bought a $4 million mansion in California in March, records show. consulted by the real estate website Dirt.com.
This mansion is located in Altadena, his hometown, near the gas station where the 30-year-old bought the winning ticket. It was built in 1953 and has five bedrooms and four bathrooms, with Japanese influences and an air of Palm Springs, according to the website; two of the bedrooms were converted into an art studio and a movie theater. It has a pond, patio and a saltwater pool.
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