Who is Jose Rivera? Man sues $2.04 billion Powerball lottery winner for stealing jackpot ticket

The $1.35 billion Mega Millions jackpot winner has at last shown up to claim their prize. According to lottery officials, the ticket was purchased in Maine on Friday the 13th of last month by the person who won the fourth-largest jackpot in American lottery history.

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Yet not everything is as lovely as it seems. The winner of the highest lottery jackpot in history now has a new problem: a guy has filed a lawsuit alleging that the winning ticket was stolen from him.

In legal documents acquired by TMZ, José Rivera claims that he was the one who purchased the ticket, but a man going by the name of “Reggie” snatched it from him.

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Who is Jose Rivera?

Jose Rivera is the man who allegedly purchased a lottery ticket from Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, California on November 7. This was the day before the significant $2.04 billion drawing. According to Rivera, he attempted to get Reggie to return the ticket, which apparently included the winning numbers, but to no effect. Reggie merely stated that it wasn’t a winner and that he would willing to give up half if it were. Jose then claims that he reported the incident to the CA Lottery and law police because he “refused to be blackmailed.”

The big lottery winner was announced last month and apparently was to receive a lump sum payment of $997.6 million. His name was Edwin Castro. Jose claims that he made a complaint with the California Lottery, alleging that the ticket was stolen, and requesting that an investigation be conducted before handing him the rewards.

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Jose now appears to be implying that Castro and Reggie may both be responsible for not providing the money by listing them both as distinct defendants. The lawsuit’s specifics are not yet known. He is requesting that the $2.04 billion prize be granted to him and that the court provides him damages.