A LOTTERY expert has warned that there could be serious consequences for the man who claimed Edwin Castro's $2billion winning ticket was rightfully his.
The California State Lottery's Powerball drawing from November 7, 2022, dealt out a winning ticket — but it took three months for Castro, 30, to collect his winnings from officials in January of this year.
He was the only player to match all six numbers on the slip in the United States for the drawing, meaning he received the entire $2.04billion total, the largest lottery payout in history, per The New York Times.
Since Castro's name was revealed as the big winner, he has encountered legal struggles as a man named Jose Rivera initially filed a civil suit in February in Alhambra Superior Court after Castro came forward to collect his winnings.
He claims that he purchased it at Joe's Service Center in Altadena, California, the day before the November 8 drawing.
The ongoing legal battle could result in punishment for Rivera or Castro depending on the result of the case, as lying about being a lottery winner in California is a felony, according to California State Lottery deputy director of public affairs and communications, Carolyn Becker.
WRONG WINNER I finally got my $3m lottery months later - I was lucky to get the cash at all
“If there is a bad actor that we can prove…they are trying to fraud the state of California by way of the lottery, it would be up – just like any other crime – it would be...
Continue without agreeing We value your privacy With your agreement, we and our 386 partners use cookies or similar technologies to store, access, and process personal data like your visit on this...