Mega Millions Winner Loses $197.5M After Missing Ticket Drama

A Los Angeles resident who won a $197.5 million Mega Millions jackpot in December 2023 has lost his court attempt to obtain a further $197.5 million from the California Lottery.

According to Faramarz Lahijani, he bought two identical tickets from the same petrol station in Encino, California, but he misplaced one of them. He is still unable to locate it.

In June 2024, the plaintiff claimed the first half of the prize by presenting lottery officials with his one remaining ticket. Days before the second ticket was set to expire in December 2024, Lahijani filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against the California Lottery for the remaining half.

The plaintiff claimed in his lawsuit that since he purchased both tickets and is the "sole winner," he is "entitled to the entire jackpot...by virtue of his having timely submitted the first matching ticket."

"Out of an abundance of caution to preserve all rights which he has to the entire Dec. 8, 2023 Mega Millions jackpot," he said, he filed the lawsuit before it expired.

No Win, No Ticket

However, on Monday, Judge Rolf M. Treu dismissed the complaint, agreeing with the California Lottery's motion that Lahijani did not present any enforceable contract or legal requirement that the lottery reimburse him for unclaimed prize money in the absence of a valid ticket.

The lottery noted that payment without a legitimate physical winning ticket is expressly prohibited by California law and game rules.

"These deficiencies appear to be fatal to plaintiff’s claims,” the judge wrote.

If Lahijani's assertion was accurate, it's unclear why he decided to buy two tickets with identical numbers when one would have had the same impact at half the cost. Your chances of winning are not increased by purchasing two tickets; they just cost twice as much.

It might be a superstitious peculiarity. However, a woman who tried to get involved in the matter had an alternative justification.

A Turn in the Story?

Cheryl Wilson stated that although she purchased the second ticket, a prior employer seized the hard copy.

Her motion to intervene was also rejected for similar reasons: there is no case to respond in the absence of a physical ticket. Additionally, Treu stated that he did not want the matter to become a "dispute over alleged theft and fraud."

The simplest explanation is that two individuals independently bought tickets with the identical numbers, as the lottery has confirmed that the two winning tickets were sold in separate transactions. Since friends, acquaintances, or even strangers in line can swap numbers at random, this situation is significantly more often than a single consumer purposefully copying an identical entry.

Nevertheless, the remaining half of the jackpot will go unclaimed following Monday's judgment, and we might never find out.