Newest Powerball Winners Fronting for Real One(s)?

In a bizarre turn of events, a friend of one of the three Greenwich men who on Nov. 2 and claimed their prize on Monday told the Daily Mail of London that the three are covering for the real winner, who does not want their identity revealed.

Tom Gladstone, a Greenwich resident and family friend of lottery winner Brandon Lacoff, told the Daily Mail of London that Lacoff revealed during a conversation yesterday that the trio did not purchase the ticket, but are fronting for the winner, who wishes to keep the press and others away. Gladstone, who owns in Greenwich, however, reportedly declined to go into detail.

An updated report in the Greenwich Time states that additional, albeit anonymous, business associates of Lacoff's have since come forward and claimed that Lacoff has told them the three are not the actual winners.

If what Gladstone and the others are claiming is true it might explain why the three men put the money into a trust, as reported. It might also explain why the trio referred all questions to their lawyer during a press conference held at Lottery headquarters in Rocky Hill yesterday. It may also explain why there was a before the winners came forward to claim the prize money, which will be paid as a lump sum, after taxes and fees, of about $108 million.

As reported on yesterday, Lacoff, along with Greenwich residents Gregg Skidmore and Tim Davidson, owners of asset management firm Belpointe LLC, stepped forward Monday to reveal themselves as the winners of the $254 million Powerball jackpot — the 12th largest in Powerball history — drawn on Nov. 2 at a BP gas station in Stamford.

Should it turn out that the trio is fronting for the actual winner, it may constitute a violation of Lottery rules, the Daily Mail of London report states, and could lead to a forfeiture.

Editor's note: See also this follow-up article: "Greenwich Trio: We're the Real Powerball Winners"