In November last year, the biggest lottery prize ever was hit, a staggering $2.04 billion jackpot from Powerball, the famous lottery game available across the United States. The life-changing and record Powerball prize was claimed a few months earlier, in February by a person named Edwin G. Castro. Announced on February 14, 2023, he was designated as the winner of the biggest lottery jackpot prize from Powerball.
Yet, after seeing Castro claim the jackpot, a person under the initials J.R. filed a lawsuit with the Alhambra Superior Court against the California State Lottery Commission, claiming that he was the lawful winner of the lottery prize. Although his initial claim was denied on the grounds that Castro was the rightful winner as announced on February 14, now, the plaintiff is claiming that he is receiving death threats, a report released by the Pasadena Star-News reveals.
In an amended lawsuit by J.R., he claimed that he received death threats after his claims that he was the lawful winner of the ticket. Moreover, in light of the death threats, the person said that he fears for his life and the lives of his family which pushed him to quit his job as a gardener.
“The plaintiff has received anonymous death threats for claiming that he is the rightful winner of the ticket and he been forced to leave his work as a gardener because of the risk to the security of his family and himself,“
reads the amended lawsuit filed by J.R.
Lawsuit Claims the Winning Powerball Ticket Was Stolen
In his lawsuit, J.R. alleges that he purchased the winning lottery ticket from Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, a day before the Powerball drawing. The plaintiff claimed that this winning ticket was stolen by a person named “Reggie.” That person is later on identified in the court papers as an individual with the initials U.F.R.
Initially, J.R. went to the Pasadena police with his lawyer but was told that they were anticipating an investigation by the Lottery Commission. While this happened back in February, in April, J.R. was reportedly told by police that his case was “pending,” as confirmed by the updated lawsuit.
J.R. alleged that he asked Castro to return the ticket many times. The lawsuit alleges that the announced winner refused to give the ticket back and proposed J.R. to split the winnings if he found it. The legal claim doesn’t explain how the person with the initials U.F.R. transferred the ticket to Castro. This was spotted by Castro’s attorneys who said that there is no evidence that supports any such interaction and transferring of the winning Powerball ticket.