Couple Who Won Powerball $246 Million Jackpot Have Disappeared

This is the last time William and Heather ten Broeke were seen in public after their $246 Million Powerball win.

It was a gentle reminder from his wife that caused William ten Broeke to buy the Powerball ticket that changed their lives.

William and Heather were grocery shopping when she reminded her husband to buy a Powerball ticket for the Sept. 17 drawing.

"Aren't you going to get a ticket?" Mrs. ten Broeke, 38, asked.

"Without her reminding me to buy the ticket, we wouldn't have won," said Mr. ten Broeke, 46.

The Publix Super Market #1363 in Brookhaven, 104 Town Blvd., Atlanta, sold the lucky Quick Pick ticket.

The ten Broekes arrived at Georgia Lottery headquarters the following Monday to claim the $246,764,131 million jackpot prize.

And they haven't been seen in public since.

They were probably following the advice from officials to stay out of the public eye and disappear.

The ten Broekes selected the cash option, which totaled $165,613,511 before taxes.

It took them several days to discover their huge win.

A few days after the Powerball drawing, they checked their ticket after seeing news reports that the winning ticket purchased in their area still hadn't been claimed.

It was then they found that they had won.

"We were shocked," Mr. ten Broeke said. "We couldn't believe it. We checked the numbers numerous times."

The ten Broekes live in the Brookhaven area of Atlanta. After marrying in 2011, the couple have one child and two dogs.

Mr. ten Broeke works as a commercial credit officer while his wife is a cardiac device specialist.

Their immediate plans were to invest, travel, help family and donate to charity.

But the most important item on their list - and one they seem to have taken to heart - is to lay low for a while.

Former 2013 Powerball winner Will Seeley said the best advice is to disappear for a while, which he did after collecting his share of $86 Million.

Here's 9 ways winners can go to ground to reduce their public exposure and problems:

1. Contact a lawyer and have a legal body formed, a trust or corporation. This will allow you to spend the winnings however you like without identifying yourself personally.

2. Start by depositing the funds in a new bank account that can't be touched for 6 months. Not only will this allow your emotions to simmer down after the win, it also prevents you giving it to anyone without due thought.

3. When you deal with banks or legal staff, go to upper management.Make an appointment by phone and mention the amount in passing. Don't stand in a queue waiting for a teller - those days are gone for you! It's white glove treatment from now on.

4. If you have a business that can be traced to you, sell it. After all, you probably won't need the stress and daily chores that every business has. If it is a profitable business (and very few are), think twice about putting it under management - it could be more trouble managing the manager!

5. If you haven't already put a privacy block on your phones, do that now. Don't use your current cellphones - buy one with a prepaid plan and only give that number to trusted family and friends. Be prepared to throw it away and get another as soon as someone outside your known group rings you.

6. If you plan to stay in your own home,you will face all the problems you've read about here. So you may need to shift. Don't do what most people do and stay with a friend or relative - you can be easily traced by anyone who knows your name. Take a 6 month lease on a nice property in the countryside and prepare to enjoy it!

7. Keep a low profile during your time away. Do not buy expensive cars or draw attention to yourself by flashing wads of cash about. The idea is to let the fuss and attention die down. Six months is usually enough.

8. Don't use your current credit cards. Get a debit card or an anonymous ATM Debit card. And use an anonymous browser for your computer so that you can't be traced when you check your bank accounts or make plane bookings.

9. Have all mail - your bank statements, bills and correspondence, everything - sent to a private box which you rent under your blind trust name. Visit the box to collect your mail only at night after business hours.