A man from Los Angeles, who won half of a $394 million Mega Millions jackpot last year, is suing the California Lottery for the remaining half.
Faramarz Lahijani asserts that he bought two tickets featuring the same numbers from a Chevron gas station for the Dec. 8, 2023 drawing, but misplaced one of them. He is still unable to locate it.
In June, Lahijani stepped up to claim the initial half of the prize, $197.5 million, but refrained from making any public statements, informing the Lottery that he preferred not to engage with the media.
It's unclear why Lahijani opted to buy two tickets with identical numbers when one would have sufficed.
The Lottery declared shortly after the draw that both winning tickets had been purchased at the same location, a Chevron gas station on Ventura Boulevard in Encino – a first.
A spokesperson for the Lottery stated that the two winning tickets were bought "in two distinct transactions," but could only guess as to the reason.
“While this is incredibly unusual and interesting, it’s not unheard of,” the spokesperson said. “There are any number of explanations. Perhaps one person wanted to try their luck on two different rows for whatever reason, or maybe a couple of buddies wanted to try their chances with the same exact numbers. We won’t know exactly how this happened until the prize is claimed.”
In his legal complaint, submitted last Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Lahijani clarifies it explicitly. He asserts that he bought both winning Mega Millions tickets, is the “only winner,” and is consequently “entitled to the full jackpot … because he promptly submitted the first matching ticket.”
He also contends that the Lottery possesses enough information to recognize him as the legitimate winner of the entire jackpot. According to the lawsuit, the acquisition of lottery tickets establishes a contractual link between the purchaser and the California Lottery, which is breaching this by failing to make payments.
The lawsuit was initiated just days before the expiration date of the reportedly lost ticket, December 8, 2024, “to ensure all rights to the complete December 8, 2023 Mega Millions jackpot are preserved.”
The Lottery has stated that it will not comment on the current lawsuit.
One entity that expresses no dissatisfaction regarding the situation is the gas station that sold the two winning tickets. According to California regulations, retailers who sell a ticket valued at over $1 million receive a bonus of 0.5% of the prize amount. Due to the fact that the Chevron in Encino sold two—regardless of who the second buyer was—it received a record bonus of $1.9 million.
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