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It's been a legal battle for Edwin Castro since he won the record-breaking $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot in November 2022, but he can rest easy now that a lawsuit by a man claiming the winning ticket was stolen from him has been thrown out.
Lawsuit thrown out
Powerball winner Castro was sued by Jose Rivera, who claimed the California man stole the winning ticket from him.
However, a Los Angeles County judge tentatively dismissed the lawsuit by Rivera last month, but it became official on Tuesday after Rivera failed to file any paperwork fighting the ruling, according to court documents obtained by TMZ.
With that ruling, Castro will no longer have to fight to prove that the winning ticket was his and that he rightfully won the jackpot, which happened to be the biggest in US history almost two years ago.
In the lawsuit, Rivera claimed the ticket was stolen from him. However, the judge said, “Players are solely responsible for securing their tickets against theft, loss, damage, or destruction,” court documents state.
The judge added, “The person in possession of a…winning lottery ticket…is the presumptive owner/winner.”
The big lottery win
The life-changing jackpot was won by Castro, 31, back in November 2022. At the time, he opted for the lump sum payout of $997.7 million.
After taxes were taken out, the California Lottery said Castro took home around $628 million.
However, shortly after collecting his winnings, Rivera sued Castro.
In the lawsuit, Rivera claimed his former landlord, Urachi “Reggie” Romero, stole his ticket, and then it allegedly ended up in the hands of Castro. Romero denied stealing the ticket, but he believed Rivera chose the winning numbers, claiming he saw it after the purchase.
Castro and his team denied having any links to either of the men. They also had video footage, which their team said was “crystal clear” in showing Castro purchasing the ticket.
A judge now agrees, and the case has been thrown out.
Since the big win
While he has been enduring legal battles, Castro has still been able to enjoy his huge windfall. He first bought a $47 million mansion in Hollywood Hills. He also happened to spend $4 million on a house for his parents in Altadena, the New York Post reported.
Castro also happened to find love after his big win, going public with his model girlfriend, Payten Vincent, 24, in a series of social media posts.
The couple had been spotted together for the first time at Nobu in Los Angeles and rumors started to fly until they made it official a month later.
Vincent is a self-described poet and worked as a barista at Starbucks in Falmouth, Maine, and as a TD Bank teller before she made the move to Los Angeles, according to her LinkedIn. She also has racked up 125,000 followers on Instagram.
Enjoy playing the California Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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