Edwin Castro, $2 billion Powerball winner, excludes man suing over 'stolen' ticket

Edwin CastroThe man who won a $2 billion Powerball jackpot won a major victory in court after he confronted the man by claiming the winning ticket was “stolen.” In contact can report exclusively.

According to court documents obtained by In contactOn September 30, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge dismissed Jose Rivera's lawsuit without the possibility of a change.

The order stated: “Judgment shall be entered in favor of defendant Edwin Castro and against plaintiff Jose Rivera. Plaintiff receives nothing from defendant Edwin Castro.”

The judge found that Jose had not responded to Edwin's request in court and the case was therefore dismissed.

Last year, Jose sued 31-year-old Edwin, the California State Lottery Commission and a man named “Reggie.”

In court documents, Jose claimed he purchased the lottery ticket on November 7, 2022 at Joe's Service Center in Altadena, California.

The location is the same location where the winning ticket was sold.

Jose claimed that a man named “Reggie” stole the ticket from him. Jose said “Reggie” would not return the ticket even though he had asked to return it several times.

Later that night, Jose saw the lottery numbers being drawn on television and saw the numbers on his “stolen” ticket being drawn.

The California State Lottery Commission announced Edwin as the winner on February 14, 2023. He received a lump sum of $997 million.

In court documents, Jose claimed he told the California State Lottery Commission about his problem, but they told her they couldn't do anything if he didn't have the winning ticket.

“The authority is clear that the state lottery cannot pay out winnings to people who do not present a valid winning ticket. “Any theft of a Powerball ticket should be dealt with by law enforcement and the alleged thief, not the state lottery,” a commission attorney argued in the court battle.

Edwin, for his part, scoffed at the lawsuit. His lawyer argued that Jose had no legal standing to bring the case.

He also said there was security footage of Edwin buying the winning ticket at the store. “I have personally viewed the CCTV footage and it is crystal clear,” said Edwin’s lawyer. “Edwin Castro bought the winning Powerball ticket without question.”

The attorney claimed Jose's lawsuit failed to allege facts showing how Edwin obtained the allegedly “stolen” ticket.

Earlier this year, the judge presiding over the case dismissed all claims against the California State Lottery Commission. Now Edwin can breathe a little easier because the legal battle is finally over for him.

As In contact As previously reported, Edwin has been living the high life since winning the jackpot in 2022.

Back in July, he was spotted in Los Angeles with his new model girlfriend Payten Vincent. Edwin and Payten, 24, were seen driving around the city in a chauffeur-driven black SUV. The billionaire and the model have been linked for months. According to sources, the two met at a Giorgio Armani event in Malibu at Soho House.

Edwin and Payten have not spoken publicly about their relationship.