Court Hearing Over $395 million Mega Millions Win

Last December saw a $395 million Mega Millions jackpot shared by two tickets.  The Mega Millions winning tickets were both sold at the same store  but was it the same person who bought both tickets? A court will decide the matter.

$740 million jackpot tonight

The dispute comes at a time when the Mega Millions jackpot has reached $740 million for this evening’s draw. It’s the largest ever top prize seen in December in Mega Millions history.

Back to the controversy over the December 2023 win. A gas station sold both the winning tickets but only one of the winners has come forward. A year has passed and the other ticket has now expired.

The one winner who has claimed their $197.5 million share is Faramarz Lahijani. He’s now filed a lawsuit in which he claims that both the winning Mega Millions tickets were purchased by him.

Mr Lahijani says that the numbers that won the top prize in the December 8, 2023 draw  “were long ago chosen by his children” and he’d been playing them for 30 years. One of the tickets was found but he hasn’t been able to find the other.

Contractual relationship

His lawsuit claims that there is a contractual relationship between himself and the California Lottery  and  that has now been breached. In addition, he claims that at no point have they explained why they don’t believe he bought both the winning tickets..

Seeing  no one else has claimed the other half of the jackpot, he should receive the full amount, say the court papers.  The second winning ticket expired on December 8. Four days before that date, Mr Lahijani made an official claim for the other half of the jackpot.

Financial hardship for the multi-millionaire

The court papers mention that he has suffered financial hardship because he has missed out on the interest the other half of the winnings would have earned.

He is therefore asking not just for the whole $395 million but also damages and costs to be awarded with the decision made by a jury after a trial.

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