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The winner of the recent $2.04 billion Powerball drawing is being sued by a man claiming to have originally purchased the winning ticket before it was stolen, according to legal documents obtained by TMZ.
Jose Rivera claims he bought the ticket from Joe's Service Center in Altadena, California, on November 7, one day prior to the record-setting drawing. Rivera said a man named 'Reggie' stole the ticket that same day and refused to give it back, instead offering to give up half as part of what Rivera described as blackmail, which led to him reporting the theft to the California Lottery and local authorities.
Earlier this month, the California Lottery announced Edwin Castro as the winner of the record-setting November 8 lottery, with Castro accepting the lump sum prize of $997.6 million. Rivera said he submitted a claim form to the California Lottery claiming the ticket had been stolen and calling on an investigation before the payment was made.
The lawsuit lists both Castro and Reggie as separate defendants and Rivera is asking the court for damages, as well as to be declared the winner of the $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot, which was the largest jackpot for a single ticket and largest cash value for a single ticket in U.S. lottery history.