Powerball winner wins lawsuit to hold onto $2bn prize after he was accused of stealing ticket

The lottery saga has been ongoing since the winning ticket was purchased in 2022

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.

Edwin Castro, 31, was finally declared the lawful winner of the $2bn jackpot by a LA County judge (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

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 tickets against theft, loss, damage, or destruction.”

The judge added that if the plaintiff assumed his ticket was stolen, he should have contacted police officials, court documents detail. The final judgement supports the tentative ruling that was made in August 2024.

The prize was the biggest in the history in California Lottery history. (AFP via Getty Images)

As Rivera has not filed a response, the case is now closed.

The lingering legal challenge did not stop Castro from spending his winnings, however.

So far he has purchased a luxury house for himself, one for his parents and multiple sports cars, according to The Daily Mail.

Carolyn Becker, California Lottery Deputy Director for Public Affairs and Communications, supported the court’s decision.

She told The Independent: “The California Lottery has been confident from the beginning that Mr. Castro is the rightful winner of the record-breaking $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot from November of 2022. We are pleased to see the Court agree. Throughout this entire ordeal, we have remained committed to our mission - one Mr. Castro very much supports - to raise supplemental funding for public education in California.”

Terry Fahn, Castro’s representative told The Independent that they would not be commenting on the dismissal.

The Independent contacted Rivera’s attorney for comment.