07 June 2023 , 21:09
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The man who accused a $2bn lottery winner of stealing the ticket has demanded the California Lottery to hand over video of the purchase.
Jose Rivera filed a lawsuit against the declared winner, Edwin Castro, the California Lottery and another man named "Reggie", claiming Mr Castro stole the winning ticket worth $2.04 billion (£1.7 billion).
Mr Castro claimed the jackpot in one lump sum of $997.6million (£808million) and has since gone on a spending spree.
Mr Rivera filed a suit in Alhambra Superior Court in February claiming he purchased the ticket at Joe's Service Center in Altadena, California.
He alleged the ticket was then stolen by a man called Reggie, who has since been identified as Urachi F. Romero and is listed as a co-defendant in court documents.
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Mr Castro claimed the jackpot in one lump sum of $997.6million (The U.S. Sun)
Jose Rivera has filed a lawsuit against the declared winner, Edwin Castro (The U.S. Sun)Mr Rivera claimed he demanded the ticket back from Mr Romero but was told it was lost.
Now Mr Rivera's attornet has asked the court to allow access to the surveillance footage showing the winning ticket being bought.
Attorney Brian Kramer wrote in a letter to the Deputy Attorney General for California representing the California Lottery Commission, saying: "By continuing to withhold the video, the California State Lottery Commission prevents plaintiff from putting to rest who actually purchased the winning lottery ticket.
Mr Castro's attorney, David De Paoli, argues in a court filing that Mr Rivera lied about serving court papers to the Powerball winner at his Hollywood Hills home.
Instead he claims it was served to his dad in Altadena.
In a sworn declaration, Edwin Castro Sr. said that on April 25: "a gentleman approached me a told me I was being served. I told the process server that he was serving the wrong 'Edwin Castro,' but he displayed little concern."
The filing adds: "There are no facts as to how Edwin Castro came into possession of the winning Powerball ticket from 'Reggie.'"
Despite this California Lottery are standing by their decision to award the winnings to Mr Castro.
Responding to Mr Rivera's lawsuit, a spokesperson said: “When it comes to the vetting process for big winners, California Lottery has the utmost confidence in its process for doing so. California Lottery remains confident that Edwin Castro is the rightful winner of the $2.04 billion prize stemming from the Powerball drawing in November of 2022.”
Lisa Freund, Deputy Attorney General, argues the lottery can't be part of the lawsuit as "public entities have no common law liability."
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She also argues: "The right to a winning share accrues solely from possession of a winning ticket, not from the mere purchase of a ticket.'"