California's $2.04 Billion Powerball Jackpot Winner Sued by Man Who Claims Winning Ticket Was Stolen

Claiming that the winning ticket was stolen from him, a man sued the California Powerball winner who claimed the record-setting $2.04 billion jackpot last November.

According to the court documents obtained by TMZ, Jose Rivera said he bought the Powerball ticket from Joe's Service Center in Altadena, California, on November 7, the day before the actual drawing.

Rivera said a man, identified only as "Reggie," stole the ticket from him the same day he bought it. After the winning numbers were drawn, he noted that he asked Reggie to return the ticket, but he refused.

He said Reggie even said it was not a winner, and if it did win, he agreed to give up half. However, Rivera noted that the man also threatened to destroy the Powerball winning ticket if he did not split the massive prize.

Rivera said he "refused to be blackmailed" and reported this theft incident to the police and the California Lottery. ABC 7 reported that the lawsuit named California Lottery, Reggie, and Edwin Castro, the publicly known Powerball winner of the $2.04 billion grand prize, as defendants.

Rivera said he submitted a claim form to the California Lottery, asking to conduct an investigation before paying out the winnings as the ticket was stolen. The man is asking the court for damages and to declare him the Powerball winner of the $2.04 billion grand prize.

$2.04 Billion Powerball Jackpot Winner in California Finally Identified

The Powerball winner in California who won the record-setting $2.04 billion jackpot was identified on Valentine's Day.

In a press conference at California Lottery headquarters in Sacramento, lottery officials revealed that the winner of the largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history and the largest ever for Powerball was Edwin Castro.

However, aside from his name, no additional information was released. Lotto officials said Castro, who matched all six numbers in the November 8 Powerball drawing, opted to receive the lump sum payment option of $997.6 million.

In a statement that lottery officials released on his behalf, Castro said he was "shocked" and "ecstatic" over his win on the Powerball lottery. However, he noted that the California public school system was the real winner.

The Powerball jackpot winner noted that the mission of the California Lottery, which is to give supplemental funding for the state's public education, "makes this a huge win for the state."

He added that as someone like him who also received the rewards of being educated in the California public education system, "it's gratifying to hear that, as a result of my win, the California school system greatly benefits as well."

Lottery officials agreed with Castro and said that the state's public schools will reap the benefits, receiving the record-breaking $156 million in proceeds from the November ticket sales.

The November 7 drawing was delayed nearly 10 hours due to a "technical glitch." Thus, the Monday night record-breaking $2.04 billion jackpot draw was held Tuesday morning.

California Lottery Not Authorized to Probe Criminal Activity Among Powerball and Mega Millions Players

In a statement that was released after Jose Rivera filed the lawsuit, the California Lottery said it is not authorized to investigate criminal activity among its players. It noted that "such allegations are subject to investigation only by local law enforcement."

"Should a local law enforcement agency investigate such allegations, Lottery's only role is to assist in the matter by answering questions and/or providing evidence as allowed under the law," the California Lottery said.

The statement added: "Further, 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."

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Man Claims Winning $2.04 Billion Powerball Jackpot Was Stolen From Him - From ABC7