Powerball winner Pedro Quezada in court fight over $360 million prize with ex-girlfriend

A MAN who won a $338 million   Powerball jackpot, among the largest lottery winnings, is embroiled in a court fight with his former girlfriend over the money.

Pedro Quezada of Passaic, New Jersey, was the sole winner of the Powerball drawing earlier this year, worth about $152 million after taxes.

His lawyer argues that Inez Sanchez has no claim to the money because the couple were never married.

But attoeys for Ms Sanchez say Mr Quezada purchased the ticket based on the couple's shared eaings. Ms Sanchez and Mr Quezada lived together for 10 years, have a child together, and shared ownership of a grocery store in Passaic, attoeys say.

Superior Court Chancery Judge Margaret Mary McVeigh refused to dismiss the lawsuit and she denied a request from Ms Sanchez to freeze Mr Quezada's lottery winnings, pending the outcome of a trial to determine if she is entitled to a share of the money, The Record reported.

The judge said that while the couple's relationship was long-term and Ms Sanchez contributed to the household, the court has no legal framework for restraining Mr Quezada's assets.

Ms Sanchez has moved out of the recently purchased home the couple shared and has filed a domestic violence claim against Mr Quezada, The Record reported. Mr Quezada's attoey declined to comment on that claim.

Pedro Quezada with his $338 million cheque after winning the Powerball lottery jackpot. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Ms Sanchez's attoey says that a large chunk of the lottery winnings is already gone, claiming $57 million has been sent to Mr Quezada's native Dominican Republic, $US5 million was given away, $300,000 was spent on the new home, and $20 million can't be located, the newspaper reported.