Aussie man sued by colleagues in syndicate after not sharing multi-million USD lottery win

An Australian man who won nearly 13 million U.S. dollars in a Victorian lottery has been accused of reneging on a decision to share lottery winnings with members of his syndicate.

Fourteen of the man's former colleagues have approached the Victorian Supreme Court to take legal action against the man, whose erratic behavior after the winners were announced in October 2014 caused suspicion.

The 16-person syndicate worked at a local courier company near Geelong in Victoria's south, and first had suspicions after the man called in sick the day after the announcement, and quit his job not long afterwards.

Fairfax Media reported on Monday the former courier purchased a 160,000 U.S. dollar sports car, as well as a two-storey property not long after the lottery draw, whilst the man's son also bought a new home.

If the syndicate did hold the winning ticket, every member would be entitled to more than 1 million Australian dollars, or more than 810,000 U.S. dollars.

Members would pay the man 16 U.S. dollars every time a "jackpot " draw was announced, and he would buy tickets for the syndicate online.

The group claim they have not heard from the man, or another member of the 16-person group -- a woman who was romantically linked to the man -- since the winning tickets were announced.

The group has summonsed Tattersalls group to the courts to determine whether the man won the "Powerball" lottery game. The hearing is scheduled for Thursday.

According to News Corp, the syndicate would like to know the name of one of three winners of the 40 million U.S. dollar jackpot draw.

They would also like to know how the man purchased the successful ticket, whether any other tickets were purchased for the same draw, and a brief account history.

If more than one ticket was purchased for the draw, the man could defend himself by saying the winning ticket was his own purchase, and not the purchase of the group.

Tattersalls spokesperson Elissa Lewis said that any syndicates should be registered with the company so that group winnings are easier to identify.

"From Tatts' perspective, it's a matter between those syndicate members, which is why we advise customers to register a syndicate or set one up through their local Tatts outlet," she told News Corp on Monday.

But she said the company is not expected to oppose the syndicate's application come Thursday when the hearing is set to take place. Endi