Edwin Castro, the Hispanic identified by the California Lottery as the winner of the $2 billion Powerball, wasted no time after claiming the large sum, judging by reports about the first investments he made with the money.
Castro bought two properties immediately after being announced as the jackpot winner of the November 8 raffle. One of the mansions is located in the Hollywood Hills and was acquired at a cost of $25.5 million, according to local and national media. The second, for $4 million, is located in Altadena, where the jackpot winning ticket was purchased. The property has Japanese-style architecture.
The winner of the largest prize in the history of lottery games in the United States opted for the disbursement in a single payment that translated into the sum of $997.6 million.
Castro’s quickness to spend the money contrasts with his refusal to appear publicly.
Castro, another Hispanic identified as Urachi F. Romero, and the California Lottery are listed as defendants in the lawsuit filed by José Rivera who alleges that the winning ticket for the multimillion-dollar sum was stolen.
The recognized winner has not made public expressions in this regard either.
On February 14, when he was announced by office officials as the lucky one, the representatives read some written statements by Castro, since he refused to participate in the press conference on the grounds that he wanted to maintain his privacy.
Rivera denounced an alleged fraud that began after buying the ticket at Joe’s Service Center on November 7.
That same day, Romero, initially named in the lawsuit as “Reggie,” allegedly stole the ticket from the Hispanic.
Here you can read details of the lawsuit
The document does not specify how the allegedly stolen ticket got into Castro’s hands.
Castro is described in unofficial reports as 30 years old and raised in Los Angeles.
Sources who spoke with TMZ indicated that the Hispanic comes from a “upright” family and that he was an athlete in high school where he excelled as a baseball and soccer player. The report also highlights that he belonged to the Boy Scouts and reached the highest level (“Eagle”) in the organization.
Before becoming a millionaire, Castro was a mechanic. In addition, he studied architecture at Woodbury University, in the city of Burbank.