Meet the new ‘Edwin Castro’ — winner of $1.76B Powerball jackpot remortgaged home before lucky win: report
The newly revealed winner of the Powerball jackpot prize worth $1.765 billion — the second-largest since Edwin Castro — had reportedly remortgaged his modest home for $93,000 before coming into sudden wealth.
Theodorus “Theo” Struyck, a 65-year-old Hawaii native now living in California, was identified this week as the representative of a group who bought the winning Powerball ticket for the Oct. 11 drawing.
The new multimillionaire has been living for years in a one-story home in the the area of Frazier Park, Calif., which he bought in 2010 after taking out a $86,753 mortgage, The US Sun has revealed, citing property documents.
In March 2015, Struyck took out a second mortgage of $93,200, which he had to repay in full by April 2035.
But the lucky jackpot recipient does not have to worry about the mortgage deadline anymore.
Records cited by the outlet indicate that the deed for Struyck’s property in Kerns County was transferred to the “Struyck Theodorus B Tr Opa Can Rest Now Trust” in January 2024.
The word “Opa” means “grandpa” in German.
Struyck was said to have a son in the US Marines stationed in San Diego, where the jackpot ticket was cashed, and several grandchildren.
“He adores his grandchildren,” neighbor Mary Dreier told KGET.
“He’s just really pleasant to have around.”
Struyck bought the winning ticket from the family-owned Midway Market, located just 500 yards from his home in the mountainous community of Frazier Park.
A ‘No Trespassing” sign appeared on his property last week.
Struyck’s jackpot fell $28 million short of Edwin Castro’s historic $2.04 billion lottery win in November 2022.
