POWERBALL winner Edwin Castro was photographed having dinner with a close friend of the Kardashians as he enjoys his newfound fame.
Castro, the biggest Powerball winner of all time, was seen dining at an upscale restaurant in Beverly Hills, California.
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He was photographed greeting Jonathan Cheban, aka Food God, outside a trendy Hollywood hangout, Novikov restaurant.
Cheban is a businessman and former publicist.
He is close to the Kardashian family and makes frequent appearances on their reality shows.
The two were seen leaving Nokivov at the same time and chatted while waiting for the valet.
Read more about Edwin Castro
Cheban then left Nokivov and ventured to Birds Street Cafe.
Castro rose to prominence after winning the whopping $2.04 billion Powerball ticket.
He has been thrust into the spotlight ever since and has gone through several trials and tribulations.
ALLY KARDASHIAN
Kardashian fans met Cheban on E! reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
Kim also executive produced her short-lived reality show, The Spin Crowd, which followed the employee at Cheban’s entertainment agency, Command PR.
The series premiered in 2010, but only lasted one season.
Kim and Cheban’s friendship dates back to the early 2000s when they met through Paris and Nicky Hilton.
They met at Brittny Gastineau’s birthday party, daughter of former New York Jets player Mark Gastineau.
Cheban spoke exclusively to The US Sun in April about his best friend Kim’s most embarrassing public moment.
He revealed that Kim was once forced onto the stage by Prince in 2011.
She joined the late pop star on stage at Madison Square Garden to dance with him.
However, her stage presence did not impress Prince and he quickly put her back in her place.
Cheban told The US Sun at Coachella that watching Kim’s awkward failure made him never want to join an artist on stage again.
In addition to his famous friends and PR experience, Cheban is also a self-proclaimed foodie, hence his nickname.
He frequently shares food content and also has an ice cream brand, Cold Case.
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CASTRO FAMILY SCANDAL
Castro’s cousins, Jean Pierre Castro and Byron Castro Jr., were accused of stealing classic cars and pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The cousins ran a classic car business in Laguna Beach, California, but now face criminal and civil charges for theft.
Jean was charged with multiple counts of robbery, auto theft and white collar crimes.
Byron faces a charge related to false or forged documents.
The pair were also charged in at least two separate civil lawsuits filed by alleged victims of the crimes.
Castro’s lawyer previously told The US Sun he was shocked to learn of his cousins’ allegations.
“Edwin Castro was completely surprised to learn of the charges against Jean Pierre and Byron Castro,” said his attorney Michael G. Freedman.
“He had absolutely no involvement in the transactions and matters that led to the criminal charges and is re-evaluating his relationship with them.”
Castro’s cousins appeared in public for the first time on August 5th.
They wore matching dark suits, green face shields and black masks.
The pair tried to hide their faces as they arrived at court in a black SUV.
They reportedly took off their masks when they arrived at court.
It is believed that Castro became friends with his cousins due to his interest in classic cars.
He was seen with Jean while walking with his girlfriend Payten Vincent in July.
Edwin Castro Powerball Winning Timeline
When and why Castro was prosecuted
On November 7, 2022, Castro purchased a winning Powerball ticket at Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, California.
The grand prize was $2.04 billion at the time – the largest in US history.
On February 14, 2023, the California Lottery announced Castro’s win, and he took home a one-time payment of $997.6 million.
Castro’s identity was disclosed, but little information was known about the former mechanic.
In May 2023, Jose Rivera, a California gardener, filed a lawsuit claiming he was the rightful owner of the golden ticket.
Rivera claimed that its former owner Urachi F. Romero stole the ticket before it ended up in Castro’s hands.
Since filing the lawsuit, Rivera has been accused of filing a false police report and was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation by a judge.
However, Rivera pleaded not guilty to the charge, passed the evaluation and continues to defend his story.
BILLION DOLLAR LOVE
Castro appears to be starting a relationship with a young model and poet.
The pair were first spotted outside Malibu’s famous sushi restaurant, Nobu.
Castro is often photographed leaving upscale venues in Los Angeles.
He was first seen with Vincent leaving Nobu in his Porsche while heading back to his $25.5 million mansion.
Vincent also shared several photos of himself inside his luxurious homes.
They “strongly released” their relationship on social media a few weeks later at a Giorgio Armani event at the exclusive Soho House.
Vincent shared a cute selfie of the two and wrote: “Last night at the @giorgioarmani event in @sohohouse [heart].”
“It seems like they are getting very serious very quickly because she already knows all about his family dynamics and business affairs,” a source previously told The US Sun.
“He’s really looking to settle down, apparently he’s not a one-night stand.
“She’s going to meet her parents soon and has already met his brother and her brother’s high school girlfriend.”
Since then, the two have been spotted all over Los Angeles living a lavish lifestyle on Castro’s earnings.
Edwin Castro’s cars
Powerball winner Edwin Castro used his recent fortune to express his love for cars, new and old
Two years ago, Southern California native Edwin Castro was working as a mechanic before winning the $2.04 billion Powerball lottery.
After taxes, he took home $628.5 million, leaving plenty of room to buy the cars he always dreamed of.
These are the cars in your collection as of July 2024:
- Porsche 911 G Series Turbo Coupe from the 1980s, worth $135,491
- Porsche 356 Coupé from the 1970s, worth US$250,000
- Gray 2023 Ram 1500 TRX – MSRP: $84,850, although dealers often mark up to six figures
- Volkswagen Kharman Ghia (black)
- Volkswagen Kharman Ghia (black)
- Volkswagen Kharman Ghia (red)
- 2024 Porsche 911 GT2RS, worth $500,000
Read more here
DEFENDING THE PRIZE
Castro had to defend his Powerball winnings from Los Angeles gardener Jose Rivera, who claims he stole the winning ticket.
Rivera claimed to have signed the back of the ticket, but Castro profited from the prize.
The US Sun previously revealed photographs of the note, which revealed Castro’s signature.
“You know what, that ticket is signed. They deleted my information,” Rivera said.
“If you look closely, there is my phone number, they erased it with some chemicals.
“I’m going to tell my criminal lawyer to take this to a lab so they can run a test and see what kind of chemicals they used.
“I know my name was on that ticket and my phone number.”
Castro’s legal team stated that the winning ticket rightfully belongs to him and denied Rivera’s claims.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
