On Monday, Greg Skidmore, Brandon Lacoff and Tim Davidson came forward as the winners. The fact that they're from wealthy - and notoriously private - Greenwich raised some eyebrows.
According to an associate, the three men who stepped from the shadows claiming the 254-million dollars in /*Powerball*/ winnings are not the winners.
/*Tom Gladstone*/ says the real winner is one of the men's clients for whom they set up the trust fund and who wants to remain anonymous.
Gladstone told ABC News, "The fact they are trustees, they are doing this guy a tremendous service. I never heard of this type of advanced planning. These are smart guys who know if they invest this right away they can get a whole lot more for it."
However, the three men are denying Gladstone's claims. In a statement issued through a representative, the men said, "While there has been much speculation and quite a bit of misinformation over the last 24 hours, this Trust, with its three trustees, has been established to manage the winnings in the most practical and expedient way possible so that we can achieve our strategic goal of helping those who can best benefit from these funds. And to be clear, there are a total of three trustees and there is no anonymous fourth participant." But why put the money into a trust?
"There are four or five reason whys people want to put assets into trusts. One of them is definitely privacy," attorney Anthony Medico said.
Medico, who does estate planning and a fair amount of trusts, says then the trustees can set up the trust for a variety of purposes.
"Charitable contributions, retirement accounts, insurance. You can have the trust direct how the assets are going to be maintained," Medico said.
In their statement, the men said, they are seeking to set priorities as to how the winnings will be allocated and, specifically, to what charities for veterans.
"Accordingly, within the next ten days the Trust will be distributing one million dollars to selected organizations within the tri-state area whose mission is to aid those veterans who need assistance. The three Trustees consider this the first stop on what we see as a journey of philanthropy in the months and years to come," the statement said.
Connecticut Lottery Corporation President Anne Noble says the winners are generally determined by whoever is holding the ticket. She says the three men will get the money.
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ONLINE:
Multi-State Lottery Association: http://www.powerball.com
