Inside the bitter $63million Powerball feud as owners of winning ‘pay off your mortgage’ syndicate head to court to stop government worker collecting $260,000 slice of mega Lotto win
- Mark Ing entered a Lotto syndicate earlier this year run Tania and Kevin Parkes
- Syndicate named ‘pay off your mortgage’ won half the $120m Powerball jackpot
- The Parkes’ say Mr Ing bought into another syndicate that did not win
- Do you know more? Email charlotte.karp@mailonline.com
A furious row has erupted over a $63million Powerball win amid claims a member of an unsuccessful lotto syndicate is claiming a $260,000 slice of the jackpot.
The owners of winning ‘pay off your mortgage’ syndicate, Tania and Kevin Parkes, have gone to court stop Mark Ing – a government worker who allegedly bought a ticket in another syndicate – from collecting a share of the winnings.
The couple, which own City News Kalgoorlie and another newsagency in the city in regional Western Australia, run multiple syndicates for different Lotto prize pools in the state.
The syndicates offer participants the chance to win big for the relatively low price of just $100 each.
On February 24, the Mr and Mrs Parkes and the 248 others who entered #2 Syndicate – named ‘pay off your mortgage’ – were overjoyed when they found out they won $261,986 each, which was half the total $120million Powerball jackpot.
Tania and Kevin Parkes (pictured with their children after their Powerball numbers were called) run a number of Lotto syndicates from their newsagency in WA
Mark Ing (pictured) used to work in consumer protection for the Western Australian government
‘Still absolutely buzzing. Thanks for an unbelievable unforgettable night guys,’ the couple wrote four days later on Facebook.
‘Wish we could have partied with all 250. Although feels like we did. May be a few sore heads in the morning.
‘We f***ing did it!’
But what should have been a feel-good situation quickly turned sour when Mr Ing turned up at a Lotterywest office claiming he was part of the winning syndicate – which the Parkes alleged was not true.
According to documents filed in the Supreme Court in April, Mr Ing was able to make a claim for the cash – pending proof that he subscribed to the winning syndicate.
Lotterywest said that if the winning Syndicate #2 ticket was found, either the owners of the syndicate or Mr Ing could mail it to officials.
The Parkes allege they subsequently reviewed their records and discovered Mr Ing had bought into the unsuccessful #1 Syndicate – before subscriptions to the winning syndicate opened.
The Parkes claimed they asked Mr Ing to tell Lotterywest of the findings, but he maintained his claim on the winnings and refused to speak with them.
Lotterywest paid the winnings to all #2 Syndicate subscribers on March 11, except Mr Ing.
However on April 14 – even though there was a formal dispute over the winnings – officials told the couple they intended to pay Mr Ing.
The payout has since been blocked by the Supreme Court.
Kevin and Tania Parkes (pictured) were overjoyed when they won Powerball – along with 248 others
Members of the Lotto syndicate were offered tickets for $100 each. Pictured: The winning Powerball ticket
Mr Ing has worked as a senior regional officer at the Government of Western Australia’s department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety since March 2020.
Prior to that, he worked at the Consumer Protection’s Property Industries branch as a compliance officer.
The matter will return to court on August 2.
A middle-aged man from Coffs Harbour in NSW won the other half of the $120million Powerball jackpot.
Kevin and Tania Parkes run a newsagency in Kalgoorlie. After the winning numbers were called, they celebrated with some of the syndicate members
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk