PENNIES FROM HEAVEN
Divine defense of $2B
Billionaire Powerball winner Edwin Castro believes divine guidance led him to the biggest jackpot in lottery history — and it’s one of the reasons he refused to back down when hit with claims he didn’t really purchase the $2 billion ticket.
“God gave him [the win] because He knew [Castro] would be a good steward with it and use it to help others,” a source told The Post.
The insider added that Castro (below), 31, remained calm when he learned he was being sued over claims the winning Powerball ticket was somehow bought by another man named Jose Rivera.
“He could give them whatever amount to make [the lawsuit] go away, but that’s what they want,” the source said.
“But if you do that, you’re open to everybody coming at you with their hands out.”
Castro won the record-breaking $2.04 billion jackpot last November after purchasing a ticket from Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, Calif. The 31-year-old decided to take the lump sum of $997.6 million.
Video of ticket buy
The California State Lottery Commission says it has obtained video of the ticket purchase from the store, but has not released it publicly.
California lottery spokeswoman Carolyn Becker told The Post she couldn’t comment on the video because of the ongoing litigation launched by Rivera, but said they are “wholly confident” that Castro is “the rightful winner.”
Rivera has claimed he was the one who bought the winning ticket from Joe’s
Service Center, and it was then allegedly stolen by his former landlord, Urachi “Reggie” Romero.
Sources told The Post that Castro has no connections to either man.
Pasadena police have since charged Rivera with filing a false police report, the US Sun reported earlier this month.
Lawyer quits
Meanwhile, Rivera’s most recent attorney, Estela Richeda, appeared in an Alhambra court and told the judge she must resign because there has been a “irreconcilable breakdown in the attorney-client relationship” and other “ethical considerations,” according to court documents reviewed by The Post.
A source said Castro, who studied architecture at Woodbury University in Burbank, Calif., “continues to pray, reads his Bible,” and has made plans to donate to various charities because he is determined to do good things with his fortune.
Just weeks before Lotto officials made his identity public, as required by California law, Castro treated a group of close friends to a trip to Fiji, where they partied at the exclusive Cloud 9 bar, known to locals as “Fiji’s floating paradise.”
Castro’s generosity and charitable work doesn’t surprise his friends. He is known in his neighborhood as a student athlete who spent a lot of time serving the community as an Eagle Scout.
A friend who grew up with Castro told The Post he was “always a good kid, made good grades, and always did community service. You don’t get to the Eagle Scouts level without putting in a lot of hours helping the community.”