Powerball winner Edwin Castro wins court battle over $2 billion fortune

Billionaire lottery winner Edwin Castro will be allowed to keep his jackpot after a judge dismissed a lawsuit from a man who accused him of stealing the winning ticket.

Jose Rivera, 43, claimed that the $2 billion jackpot won by Edwin Castro, 31, in November 2022 was his and that Castro stole his ticket.

A Los Angeles district judge dismissed the case on September 30 because Rivera did not have the ticket in his possession.

“Players are solely responsible for protecting their tickets from theft, loss, damage or destruction,” the judge said in documents obtained by TMZ.

“The person in possession of a lottery ticket is the presumed owner/winner.”

Edwin Castro won the $2 billion jackpot in November 2022

Jose Rivera (pictured), 43, claimed that the $2 billion jackpot Castro won was his

The judge made the preliminary decision back in August, and it became final Tuesday because Rivera never filed an answer.

Castro chose the lump sum payment option after winning $2.04 billion in November 2022, reducing the after-tax total to $997 million.

With his great earnings he bought a luxury house, one for his parents, several sports cars and treated himself to exotic trips.

Rivera reported to Pasadena police that Castro “stole” the winning ticket from him.

Police and California Lottery investigators tried to determine whether the alleged crime occurred, but he has since been accused of filing a false police report.

Rivera claimed the ticket was stolen from his former LAN

dlord “Reggie”, also known as Urachi F. Romero.

Castro splurged on a $25 million Hollywood Hills home (pictured) and a $4 million Japanese-inspired home in Altadena for his mother and father

Castro chose the lump sum payment option after winning $2.04 billion in November 2022, reducing the after-tax total to $997 million

Romero told the New York Post that he saw Rivera with the winning ticket on November 7, the same night he claimed to have purchased it at Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, California.

He also claimed that he later received threats from Rivera, but insisted that he did not steal the ticket and that he did not know Castro.

In July, the billionaire lottery winner was spotted locking lips with 24-year-old Payten Vincent outside LA celebrity hotspot Nobu.

Castro deleted his social media accounts after his record-breaking lottery win, but his new member already has 125,000 followers on her Instagram account, where she has posted selfies of herself posing with celebrities like rapper Flavor Flav and DJs Cedric Gervais and Diplo celebrate.

Because he became known as a jackpot winner, Castro hired Terry Fahn, a media representative from Strick and Company, to help him with communications and public relations.

In July, the billionaire lottery winner was spotted kissing lips with 24-year-old Payten Vincent

Fahn has worked with other high-profile clients such as MLB star Alex Rodriguez and various NBA players.

Before he became known as the winner of the largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history, Castro chose Fiji as the location for his final low-profile victory.

He was seen munching on coconuts with friends and chilling on the beach with at least six others who probably weren’t expecting to pay big on vacation.

Castro reportedly returned from his trip to Fiji to his family’s three-bedroom home near La Crescenta, California, but it wasn’t long before he started splashing the cash.

Castro splurged on a $25 million home in Hollywood Hills and a $4 million Japanese-inspired home in Altadena for his mother and father.

He hired bodyguards for himself and his family and began working with his brother Jesse, a banker, to manage his fortune.