By Marielis Acevedo
31 Oct 2023, 3:27 PM EDT
José Rivera, the man in California who sued Edwin Castro for the alleged theft of the winning $2 billion Powerball ticket, could be accused of having filed a false report with the police.
In a not unexpected twist in the case that has kept the two Hispanics and a third, identified as Urachi F. Romero, at odds since the beginning of the year, police authorities in Pasadena passed information to the prosecutor’s office for the possible filing of an accusation of lesser charges. against Rivera.
The city’s public information officer, Lisa Dederian, told the Daily Mail, according to an article published last Thursday, that the prosecutor’s office will examine the evidence provided by that police department to determine whether charges apply.
Those convicted of filing false complaints in California face up to 6 months in prison and fines of up to $1,000.
It is not clear what the Hispanic’s alleged lie would have consisted of.
At the moment, Rivera, Castro and Romero are facing each other in the Alhambra Court after the former alleged in a lawsuit that Romero (his former landlord) stole the ticket that Castro ended up collecting. The legal appeal does not establish how the ticket allegedly passed from one hands to another.
Speaking to the New York Post last May, Romero denied having stolen the winning ticket.
However, he assured that Rivera had shown him the document and explained the selection of each of the winning numbers.
The man also could not specify how the ticket came into Castro’s hands. He added that he does not know Castro or his family.
In September, it emerged that Romero was arrested in a case for possession of weapons and drugs.
The man was sentenced on August 15 to spend 56 days in a Los Angeles County jail and two additional years on probation.
Castro was announced on February 14 as the winner of the largest sum in the history of lottery games in the United States.
The man did not attend the press conference in which the announcement was made, claiming that he preferred to maintain his privacy.
The entity has reaffirmed that the legitimate winner of the prize drawn on November 8 is Castro and that the strict verification processes do not leave room for fraud of this type.
Keep reading:
The “secret” evidence in the case for the alleged theft of the $2 billion Powerball in California
Video shows José Rivera looking for the winning ticket for the $2 billion Powerball that was supposedly stolen from him in California