LUCK RUNS OUT

$2B Powerball Winner Served Lawsuit Claiming Winning Ticket Was Stolen

Edwin Castro was served legal papers at his $25 million mansion claiming that his winning lottery ticket was stolen.

The California man who won a $2 billion jackpot playing Powerball last year was served legal papers claiming that his winning ticket was stolen, with process servers approaching him at his $25 million mansion on April 25, according to The U.S. Sun. The tabloid reported that Edwin Castro initially tried to evade the servers, saying they were “serving the wrong Edwin Castro,” according to court filings. The lawsuit was filed earlier this month by Jose Rivera, who alleges that he, not Castro, bought the winning ticket last November. Rivera claims that the ticket was stolen the same day by a man named “Reggie,” who has since been identified as Urachi Romero and is named as a co-defendant in the suit, according to court documents obtained by the Sun. Rivera asked Romero numerous times to return the ticket, according to the suit, but he refused, saying among other things that the two could split the winnings. It’s unclear how the ticket allegedly made its way from Romero to Castro, though he eventually came forward with the winning ticket in February. The California Lottery said after the suit was filed that they were confident that Castro was the rightful winner.