The Philadelphia district attorney is suing Elon Musk over a controversial $1 million election donation

The Philadelphia district attorney on Monday sued Elon Musk and his super PAC over the billionaire's controversial $1 million donation to registered voters.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner's lawsuit alleges that Musk and his America PAC “operate an illegal lottery in Philadelphia (as well as throughout Pennsylvania).” The filing alleges that Musk's $1 million gift constitutes an “illegal lottery system” in the state – one that is prohibited because lotteries in the state must be regulated by the Commonwealth.

As a result, Krasner is seeking a temporary restraining order, saying Musk must be “stopped immediately” because it is alleged to be a “voter influence plot.”

Notably, the filing explicitly states, “This is not a case” about whether Musk violated state/federal laws prohibiting vote buying – as some experts have suggested – but rather a case solely about illegal lotteries and “deceiving consumers”. “

Musk announced the eighth winner of his super PAC's $1 million prize in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on Saturday and reiterated his promise to continue offering the money to a registered swing-state voter who signed his petition. He said participants are not required to vote, but the online petition form states that one must be a registered voter to be eligible to vote.

“We are trying to raise awareness for this very important petition in support of the Constitution. And it's like, you know – we need the right to free speech; “We need the right to bear arms,” Musk told the rally.

“So we're going to spend a million dollars every day until November 5th,” he continued. “And besides, all you have to do is sign the petition in support of the First and Second Amendments. That's all. You don't even have to choose. It would be nice if you voted, but you don't have to.” . And then you just sign something you already believe in and you get a test to win a million dollars every day from now until the election.

Federal law excludes anyone who “pays, offers to pay, or accepts payment either to register to vote or to vote.” The penalty is a maximum fine of $10,000 or up to five years in prison.

When reached for comment, a representative from America PAC referred ABC News to a post on Monday's winner was from Michigan, according to the post.

The person added that it would be fair to “conclude” that PAC plans to continue issuing $1 million checks.

The filing specifically accuses Musk and the PAC of violating the state's consumer protection laws with the lottery, including by failing to publish full lottery rules; not showing how they choose the winner; and fail to demonstrate how they protect the personal information they collect through registrations.

“In connection with their plan, they make misleading, vague or deceptive statements that create a risk of confusion or misunderstanding,” the filing says.

They also accuse Musk and the PAC of making “false statements” about the lottery, including claiming that winners would be selected at random – a claim they say “seems false” because they say that several winners lived near his rallies in Pennsylvania.

“For example, the October 19th and 20th winners do not appear to have been chosen at random, as both happened to live near the locations where Musk's pro-Trump rallies took place and both were present at those rallies,” it says it in the file.

“If not enacted, their lottery program will cause irreparable harm to the residents of Philadelphia – and other Pennsylvania residents – and impair the public’s right to free and fair elections,” the filing concludes.

The Justice Department sent a letter to Musk last week warning him that the giveaway could violate federal law, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News. The letter from the Election Crimes Unit of the DOJ's Public Integrity Division was sent to Musk's PAC, the source said.

Several experts ABC News spoke with following Musk's announcement of the giveaway said it was an unclear area of ​​the law.

“I've gone back and forth about it,” Richard Briffault, a law professor at Columbia University Law School, told ABC News. “It clearly violates the spirit of the law, but it’s not 100 percent clear to me that it violates the letter of the law.”

Other experts like Doug Spencer, an election law professor at the University of Colorado, said, “It seems like it's really crossing the line.”

ABC News' Max Zahn contributed to this report.