A LOTTERY whistleblower – who claims he was fired for questioning big payouts in California – has revealed the full steps used to prove a huge windfall, amid Edwin Castro’s messy lawsuit.
The Powerball winner is still being sued for allegedly cashing in a stolen ticket and scooping the $2.04billion jackpot.
He is being backed by the California Lottery and his accuser, Jose Rivera, has been charged with filing a false police complaint.
But officials have still refused to release the video of the ticket sale which allegedly proves Castro is the legitimate winner, which has raised questions about the case.
Las Vegas-based Reid Galbreath, a former California Lottery investigator, previously told The U.S. Sun he believes Castro’s win is suspicious.
Now, he is revealing more about the process after a draw, as officials said they do rigorous checks to prove a lottery ticket holder is the real winner.
Galbreath said, “The California Lottery uses internal systems to track every ticket. This includes online games such as Powerball and scratch-off tickets.
“This system tells the investigators when the ticket was sold, where the ticket was sold, and every location where the ticket was validated and checked to see if it was a winner.
“The process of validating a winning ticket, or verifying the information provided by a claimant, should involve the investigator obtaining surveillance video from the location where the ticket was sold and each location where the ticket was checked.
“This assists in assuring the same individual is both the purchaser and the person validating the ticket.”
The problem is the process is not transparent.
Reid Galbreath
He accused the California Lottery of “straying from its mission” in recent years, which is to maximize funding for public education.
Galbreath believes the system is victimizing in situations such as the Castro case because Rivera, an out-of-work landscape gardener, lacks the resources to fight back.’
He previously admitted he is “broke” and lost several lawyers before finally hiring new counsel recently, which he said was “expensive.”
“One of the key issues with the way the lottery is currently managing public money is the lack of transparency and integrity in the operation,” Galbreath said.
“The lottery is trusted to issue billions in public money with little oversight and is rarely expected to provide evidence to justify the payments it’s making.
“The money managed by the lottery is solely meant to maximize supplemental funding to public schools.
“This is why playing the lottery is so appealing to many because ultimately the money you’re spending is going to a good cause.
“The problem is the process is not transparent and is not required to meet the same checks and balances as expected of private gaming establishments.
“The California Lottery is a public entity much like the California State Auditor, which released a report on several ways the lottery violated regulations.”
The last report available online from 2022 and obtained by The U.S. Sun shows several recommendations from the State Auditor.
One included; “Two employees of the California State Lottery engaged in time abuse for almost two years and received at least $16,000 in salary for hours they did not work.”
HUGE WINDFALLS
CBS News also previously investigated several cases, with reporter David Goldstein writing about a man who collected a nearly $2 million Powerball check, even though he admitted he had lost his ticket.
The outlet reported that the chief lottery investigator said in her report he couldn’t provide proof that he was the winner, which is required by law.
Galbreath went on, “There is already speculation amongst other state lottery players regarding the number of winners coming out of California.
“Why not stop the speculation and concern by simply proving the facts that led to you paying out over a billion dollars in public money?”
Galbreath claims he was fired after disagreeing with the California Lottery’s decision to pay a “winner” in 2015.
They refused to comment when contacted by The U.S. Sun.
Meanwhile, the lottery previously released a statement supporting Castro in his legal fight, despite refusing to share the video.
Spokesperson Carolyn Becker said, “When it comes to the vetting process for big winners, California Lottery has the utmost confidence in its process for doing so.
“California Lottery remains confident that Edwin Castro is the rightful winner of the $2.04 billion prize stemming from the Powerball drawing in November of 2022.”
Castro’s former lawyer, David De Paoli, also claimed he “personally viewed the surveillance footage from the gas station where the ticket was bought, describing it as “crystal clear.”
“Edwin Castro purchased the winning Powerball ticket without question,” he added.
Rivera is next due in court in July for both his civil and criminal cases.
