Man claims he's been forced out of workplace lotto syndicate claiming $40M Powerball jackpot

A lotto syndicate of work colleagues has turned on itself after winning a $40 million Powerball jackpot earlier this month.

Individuals in the 14-person syndicate stood to win $2.85 million each until one of the members found themselves on the outside.

“After I checked our ticket and saw that we had all the winning numbers, the phone calls were flying around — my phone was ringing like mad,” the syndicate leader told News Corp.

But since the celebrations started, one of the members has brought in the lawyers after they were "wrongfully excluded" from the group.

“I feel betrayed that a work colleague I’ve been supportive of can openly do this,” the man said, keeping his identity anonymous.

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“If someone else was in this position I would be the first one to talk to the group, to do the right thing," he said.

"I have worked with these gentlemen for five years and when they’ve fallen on tough times, either at work or at home, I have supported them."

The winner said he hoped the matter would be cleared up soon and that he and the other 13 members of the group got their slice of the jackpot.

For whatever reason the man was forced from the group is not clear, but according to his legal representative from Shine Lawyers, he was fully paid up in the syndicate – something the ticket holder is apparently refusing to acknowledge.

“If the registered holder of the winning ticket does receive the money from Oz Lotteries, we will require that they do not make a decision on their own as to how that money is paid out. The winnings need to be frozen until the dispute is resolved," the Shine spokesperson said.

The group has until May 19 until the winnings are released.

In 2015, Geelong man Gary Baron was accused of filching $16.7 million in lotto winnings from a workplace syndicate that should have been shared among 14 workmates.

News break – May 13