POWERBALL winner Edwin Castro – who is being sued for allegedly stealing the $2bn ticket – took months to claim the big money prize, but his lawyer insists it wasn’t because he didn’t buy the ticket.

Castro was announced as the winner in February 2023, after allegedly failing to come forward following the November 8 draw, with the numbers being; 10-33-41-47-56 and Powerball 10.

According to reports, the jackpot started at $20million back on August 6 and grew over the months, until Castro matched all five white balls and the red Powerball number.

Critics have speculated that he didn’t come forward immediately to claim the prize, as he’s now being sued by a man named Jose Rivera, who claims he bought the ticket and lost it.

It was believed he hadn’t come forward until February when the California Lottery named him as the winner, but he declined to attend the press conference.

But court documents seen by The U.S. Sun show he was actually sent the huge payments via direct deposit on January 18, with bank statements showing a list of payments for 75,818,944.26.

It is also believed to have taken weeks for the lottery to clarify he was the winner and meet with him before he received the money, with his lawyer David De Paoli now breaking his silence on the matter.

Asked why he allegedly didn’t claim the money for months, the attorney told The U.S. Sun: “Because we set up a whole bunch of stuff in the background. It’s a lot of money.”

He further went on to claim he has been working with Castro “since the day after” he won the money, adding: “You’d be surprised how much goes into all of that.”

Castro is believed to have had top professional advice on how to handle his finances and the pressures of being thrown into the media spotlight amid the legal brouhaha.

CASH DEPOSITS

De Paoli insisted: “But he’s doing all sorts of great things with it, he just doesn’t want everyone knowing. 

“He doesn’t want to talk to media, he’s a private guy. 

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“He’s a very humble, smart guy … younger, but he’s not a partier, he’s close with his family, he’s spending the money well.”

De Paoli said he goes through dozens of emails a week from people asking for money, and Castro quietly gives to causes he feels personally connected to without making a song and dance of it.

He chose the $997.6 million cash option after claiming his prize and reportedly walked away with $628.5 million after the required federal tax withholdings.

The U.S. Sun has reached out to clarify the day Castro initially called the California Lottery to claim his prize.

The only public comment Castro has made thus far was read out during the press conference held at Joe’s Service Center, a gas station in Altadena, California, where the winning ticket was purchased.

“As much as I am shocked and ecstatic to have won the Powerball drawing, the real winner is the California public school system,” his statement said.

COURT DELAY

“The mission of the California Lottery, which is to provide supplemental funding for California public education … makes this a huge win for the state.

“As someone who received the rewards of being educated in the California public education system, it’s gratifying to hear that, as a result of my win, the California school system greatly benefits as well.”

Castro’s lawyer also previously told The U.S. Sun that the lawsuit against him is “baseless” and believes Rivera will not be getting a dollar, as they wait to view CCTV footage of the ticket being bought.

“There is no basis in fact for the suit at all. At this point, we’re just working on service but there are huge problems with the complaint,” he said. “At some point, it is going to become clear that Edwin G. Castro is the legitimate owner of the ticket.”

The U.S. Sun was present in court at the most recent hearing, where it was revealed all of the defendants will need to be served again as the case was thrown into chaos.

A case management hearing scheduled for this month has now been continued until at least February 27, 2024.