A recurring player of the American Mega Millions lottery claims that he is the rightful owner of two winning tickets of the jackpot sold at a California gas station, but he says he lost one of them. Even so, he insists on claiming the entire prize.
As reported by the New York Post, Faramarz Lahijani claimed half of the $394 million prize from the drawing held on December 8, 2023, and which had been sold at a Chevron gas station in Encino, California. Since he could not present the second ticket, he gave himself a full year from the drawing to claim the other $197.5 million of the prize.
It was just a few days ago when lahjiani filed a lawsuit against the California Lotteryclaiming that he was the buyer of the second winning ticket, but that he could not present it because he had lost it.
The keys to the demand
The lawsuit for breach of contract It was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on December 6, just a few hours before the expiration date. According to the media ‘Patch’, the text of the lawsuit states that “by virtue of having timely presented the first matching ticket, the plaintiff is entitled to the entire jackpot”.
Lahijani assures that he has been using those same numbers for decades, since they were once chosen by his children. Furthermore, it is supported by the odds so low that the same establishment has sold on the same day two winning tickets with the same numbers. Either it is an incredible coincidence, or they were indeed bought by the same person.
The New York Post contacted the California Lottery spokesperson, who assures that “there are several explanations; Maybe one person wanted to try their luck in two different lines for some reason, or maybe a couple of friends wanted to try their luck with the exact same numbers. “We won’t know exactly how this happened until the prize is claimed.”
Although the outcome of the lawsuit is not yet known, members of the Encino community in California already consider it one of the most curious events in its history.