Man Suing Powerball Winner Edwin Castro Skips Court Hearing, Receives $1,550 Fine
The man suing Edwin Castro was ruled competent to stand trial in his criminal case.
March 1 2024, Published 7:15 p.m. ET
Jose Rivera, the man who accused Powerball winner Edwin Castro of stealing his lottery ticket, did not show up to his case management conference on Friday, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Rivera was fined $1,550 for failing to appear at the scheduled hearing.
Rivera claims he's the rightful owner of the $2 billion Powerball ticket.
At the conference, Judge William Crowfoot spoke with Lisa Freund, the attorney representing the California Lottery Commission, and Kate Morrissett, Castro's newly hired attorney.
After brief technical difficulties with Zoom, Judge Crowfoot announced Rivera was now representing himself after losing yet another lawyer. The three continued to discuss an issue with a demurrer.
Rivera was fined $1,550 after he failed to show up to the case conference hearing with Castro's attorneys on Friday.
"This is also the time and place set for a case management conference on this matter," Crowfoot said. "We don't have the plaintiff here, so I'm not going to set a trial date without the plaintiff present."
The judge announced the court would hear Castro's demurrer on July 25 and that the case management conference would continue on the same date, signaling that the legal matter was far from over.
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Rivera claims he bought the ticket from Joe's Service Center on November 7, 2022 but it was stolen.
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The judge additionally announced Rivera's fine for skipping the conference, saying, "I'm also going to show cause for sanctions on Plaintiff, for Plaintiff's failure to appear for today's case management conference, and that would be up to $1,550."
According to a source, Rivera was said to be confused about the civil court date in Alhambra during an earlier appearance in Pasadena criminal court this week.
Rivera was criminally charged with filing a false police report in Pasadena in a separate case.
Castro is fighting back against Rivera's claims and asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit.
Rivera's criminal case was suspended after he was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation following an eruption in court last week, in which he fired his public defender and begged the judge for time to seek other counsel. Rivera pleaded not guilty to filing a false police report.
As RadarOnline.com reported, Castro asked the court to dismiss Rivera's lawsuit, claiming he was the rightful owner of the winning ticket. Rivera sued Castro, the California Lottery Commission, and a guy named "Reggie."
Rivera claimed he purchased the winning ticket from Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, California on November 7, 2022, only to have it allegedly stolen by "Reggie."
Rivera attempted to file a claim with the California Lottery Commission but was denied. Castro's lawyers argue there's surveillance footage of his client purchasing the winning ticket.
“I have personally viewed the CCTV footage and it is crystal clear,” Castro’s attorney said. “Edwin Castro purchased the winning Powerball ticket without question.”
In a newly filed response, Castro's attorney argued Rivera's lawsuit "does not plead facts that would establish Castro ever interacted with [Rivera] or formed any obligation to [Rivera]."
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