A man who won $197.5 million on a MegaMillions lottery jackpot in December 2023 has filed a lawsuit against the California Lottery for denying him another $197.5 million winner that he claims he bought at the same time.
Faramarz Lahijani of Los Angeles, California, says he lost the second ticket. But he believes the fact that it used exactly the same numbers and was bought at the same store on the same day, should be evidence enough that he is the second winner.
He filed the lawsuit late last week in Los Angeles Superior Court. The California Lottery has not officially commented since, but it has previously countered the claims. Lahijani says Lottery officials told him the fact that the two tickets were bought separately means it cannot be proved they were both his.
The First Win
The two jackpot-winning tickets for the June Mega Millions draw were both purchased at a Chevron gas station on Ventura Boulevard in Encino, California.
They matched the numbers 21, 26, 53, 66, 70, and 13. The jackpot prize was $197.5 million.
It isn’t unheard of for U.S. lottery winners to have bought two tickets for the same number. But the California Lottery said this was the first time it knew of two winning tickets with the same numbers being bought at the same place and day, but in separate purchases.
Lahijani claimed the $197.5 million winner in July. He says he told the Lottery about losing the second winning ticket, but they refused to pay out.
He said he had been using the winning numbers for decades. Lahijani says this is backed up by past receipts and his children, who he says chose the numbers.
The Lawsuit
Lahijani filed the lawsuit on December 6, two days before the jackpot prize-winning ticket was due to expire. It names the California State Lottery Commission, the California Lottery, and the State of California as defendants.
As well as the second jackpot win, the lawsuit is claiming $50,000 in damages.
“Plaintiff has suffered financial hardship and emotional distress, including but not limited to, embarrassment, anxiety and mental anguish, all to his general damage in a sum in excess of $50,000.0,” the legal filings read.
The California Lottery has yet to comment since the lawsuit was filed, although officials have previously spoken on the case.
“It would not be appropriate for the California Lottery to comment on an active lawsuit or any pending litigation to protect the integrity of the process involved,” it said, as reported by KTLA News.
You may think, what are the odds of two different people picking the same winning numbers at the same gas station store on the same day? But strange things have occurred in the world of the lottery before.
Earlier in 2024, a man from Washington D.C. narrowly avoided similar circumstances, although at much smaller takes. Philip H. won $500,000 on August 12, which he successfully claimed. But at the time, he did not disclose to D.C. Lottery officials said that he had purchased a second ticket with the same numbers – but he then lost it.
Fortunately for Philip, he found the second winning ticket a month later and successfully claimed the second half of his $1 million win.
David is an online casino expert who specializes in online slots and boasts over 10 years experience writing about iGaming. He has written for a wide range of notable publications, including eSports Insider and WordPlay Magazine.
David graduated Derby University with a BA Degree in English Literature and Creative Writing.
