LOS ANGELES (CNS) – A lawsuit filed by a man who alleges he bought both winning tickets in a nearly $400 million California Lottery jackpot late in 2023, but lost the second ticket and still wants to collect the other half of the prize he has been denied, should be dismissed, the Attorney General’s Office states in new court papers.
Faramarz Lahijani states in his Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit that he was granted 50% of the $394 million from the Dec. 8, 2023, Mega Millions grand prize. He says both tickets were bought at a Chevron station on Ventura Boulevard in Encino, and that Lahijani used the same numbers he has been playing the lottery for 30 years, which were chosen by his children: 21, 26, 53, 66, 70 and the mega number, 13.
But in court papers filed Monday with Judge Lia Martin in advance of an Oct. 29 hearing, a deputy attorney general representing the lottery states that Lahijani’s argument doesn’t add up.
“Payment of a Mega Millions prize without the submission of a valid winning ticket is expressly barred by the Mega Millions game Rules and by applicable California statutes and regulations,” the lottery attorney states in his court paper.
In Lahijani’s case, he admits that he does not have the second ticket and deadline to do so was Dec. 8, 2024, the suit states.
Lahijani filed the breach of contract suit Dec. 6 and filed a claim with the lottery commission two days earlier. Lahijani’s suit, which seeks the remaining $197 million, states he is the only winner because “by virtue of his having timely submitted the first matching ticket, plaintiff is entitled to the entirety of the jackpot.”
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