The attorney representing Powerball winner Edwin Castro has reportedly seen footage of his client buying the $2.04 billion winning ticket as a legal battle over who is the rightful winner drags on.
Castro won a life-changing sum of money after buying a ticket last November. But months later, Jose Rivera came forward to insist in a lawsuit that he had actually bought the high-priced ticket from a California store before it was stolen from him by his landlord Urachi “Reggie” Romero and somehow ended up in Castro’s hands.
The California State Lottery Commission has clear video of the ticket purchased at Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, California, but has not released it publicly.
But Castro’s lawyer, David De Paoli, said he had seen the long-sought clip that reportedly showed his 31-year-old client buying the ticket in a statement on Monday.
Edwin Castro won a life-changing amount of money after buying a ticket last November. Diggzy/Jesal / SplashNews.com
“I myself have seen the CCTV footage and it is clear,” the lawyer said. “Edwin Castro bought the winning Powerball ticket without question.”
De Paoli did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The Post.
His statement came after Rivera allegedly filed a false police report with Pasadena police in connection with the case, the US Sun reported earlier this month. Authorities believe Rivera wasted their time with frivolous claims about the ticket that led to the charges, the outlet reported.
He is set to be arraigned on Dec. 1.
Attorney David De Paoli is pictured leaving California’s Alhambra Superior Court in Los Angeles on September 29, 2023. The US / MEGA
Rivera’s attorney previously denied wrongdoing before charges were filed.
The state lottery commission said Castro is the rightful winner because a civil case is pending.
“When it comes to the vetting process for big winners, the California Lottery has high confidence in its process to do so,” spokeswoman Carolyn Becker previously said in a statement.
“The California Lottery remains confident that Edwin Castro is the rightful winner of the $2.04 billion prize resulting from the November 2022 Powerball drawing.”
California Lottery Director Alva Johnson announced that Edwin Castro won November’s highest PowerBall jackpot of $2.04 billion on Tuesday, Feb. 14. 2023, in Sacramento, California.
The agency announced Castro won the prize money in February and decided to take a lump sum payment of $997.6 million.
Rivera filed suit against Castro, the lottery commission and Romero following the announcement. The case continues until next February, US Sun reported.
Romero, the landlord, has supported Rivera’s claim that his tenant bought the tickets but denied that he stole them. Romero said he wasn’t sure how it ended up with Castro, whose legal team has said their client had no connection to either man.
Castro – who was spotted at Los Angeles International Airport in September with a mystery woman by his side – has bought three California mansions worth a combined tens of millions of dollars since collecting his winnings.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
