On Sept. 25, Robertson arrived home from work to find Thibeault, a 46-year-old father of three, had cleared out all his belongings from their shared home, according to three people who know the couple.

She then learned from mutual friends he had also quit his job at a local granite and glass supply company. A colleague had emailed the entire office that Thibeault had won, which is how she learned of the windfall.

"She couldn't believe it," said a person close to her, who, like others interviewed for this story, spoke on condition of anonymity.

Robertson contacted Windsor lawyer Anita Landry, who immediately phoned OLG headquarters in Toronto and obtained an injunction in a Windsor courtroom on Sept. 28.

"This motion, made without notice, by the plaintiff for an order that the defendant Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation not distribute the proceeds of the winning 6/49 lottery ticket from Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017 in the amount of $6,146,722.60 until the ownership issue can be disposed of," the court document reads.

But the legal injunction wasn't necessary — everything was put on hold as soon as the Crown gaming agency was aware there was a dispute surrounding the ownership of the ticket.

That means Robertson, who declined to comment through her lawyer, could be entitled to more than $3 million of the prize.

Thibeault — who is "laying low" in an undisclosed location until the matter is resolved, according to a friend — also declined to comment.

The other half of the $12.2 million bonanza was won by a ticket holder in Quebec.

OLG's senior manager of media relations Tony Bitonti said there are very strict procedures surrounding the awarding ofprizes.

"The prize claim process is a process OLG would have followed regardless of whether there was an injunction or not," said Bitonti.

"Anyone or group presenting a ticket worth $1,000 or more is subject to the prize claim review process to determine ownership of the specific ticket. For prizes of $10,000 or more, this review process includes a mandatory in-person interview of the claimant conducted by an OLG prize claims investigator," the spokesperson said.

"While OLG has key information about the ticket — where and when it was purchased, was it purchased with other lottery products, etc. — in addition, we ask the claimant certain questions about the ticket and the circumstances surrounding its purchase in order to confirm ownership," he said.

"If, for any reason, our prize claim review team cannot confidently determine the ownership of the ticket from the answers to the questions from the interview, then the claim is sent to OLG general investigations for further review. This further review can include interviewing other individuals with relevant information surrounding the prize claim."

A prize is awarded only after OLG — which has revamped its procedures after a scandal surrounding questionable insider wins a decade ago — completes its investigation.

OLG investigators sometimes examine months-old surveillance video from variety stores and gas stations where tickets are sold to determine buying patterns.

They use computerized "data analysis and retrieval technology" to analyze billions of transactions per second and can identify ticket purchase characteristics to thwart fraudsters.

But changes in human relationships can be tricky to track.

Toronto Star