Financiers fronting for lottery winner

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GREENWICH, Conn., Nov. 29 (UPI) -- A trio of Connecticut financiers accepted a check for a $254 million Powerball drawing on behalf of an anonymous client, a friend of one of the men said.

Brandon Lacoff, Greg Skidmore and Tim Davidson of Belpointe LLC, based in Greenwich, accepted an oversized check Monday for $108 million -- the after-tax lump sum amount of the winnings. Tom Gladstone, a longtime friend of Lacoff, said the three men did not purchase the ticket and were accepting the check to keep the winner's identity a secret, The Stamford (Conn.) Advocate reported Tuesday.

"I called him last night and said, `Brandon, I saw you on Friday and you did not tell me that you won the lottery.' He said, `we are just representing the guy,'" Gladstone said.

Gladstone said he didn't know if the real winner was a client of Belpointe when the winning ticket was purchased "but he sure is now."

However, a public relations specialists issued a statement on behalf of the three denying the report.

"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," Gay Lewi said in a statement reported by CNN. "And to be clear, there are a total of three trustees and there is no anonymous fourth participant."

Lewi said the three partners -- who have formed the Putnam Avenue Family Trust, with each serving as a trustee -- will distribute $1 million with 10 days to a select group of military veterans' relief organizations, CNN reported.