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Community Corner

Greenwich Powerball Winners Stand By Their Claim

Documentation from the state lottery corporation obtained by the Greenwich Time shows that the three men are, in fact, the real winners.

The three Greenwich men who — along with representatives from the state Lottery — have seemingly done all they can to put to rest rumors that they are who doesn’t want their identity revealed.

No sooner had Greenwich residents Gregg Skidmore, Brandon Lacoff and Tim Davidson, owners of asset management firm Belpointe LLC, come forward to claim the Powerball jackpot — the largest in state history and 12th largest in Powerball history — when a family friend came forward and told media outlets that the three were fronting for the real winner, who does not want his or her identity known.

What’s more, a second associate of the trio, who wished to remain anonymous, made the same claim in a Greenwich Time report, setting off a flurry of speculation that the three men were hiding the real winner’s identity, and that they could end up losing the jackpot if they were, in fact, misrepresenting themselves, which could be considered a violation of Lottery rules.

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A report yesterday in the Greenwich Time includes documentation provided by the Connecticut Lottery Corp. — obtained through the Freedom of Information Act — confirming that the three men are the winners, including a signed affidavit and a copy of the winning ticket which was signed by Tim Davidson, who reportedly purchased it at a BP gas station in the Shippan section of Stamford on Nov. 1, the day before the drawing.

Frank Farricker, chairman of the Connecticut Lottery Corp. (and also chairman of the Greenwich Democratic Town Committee), said in the report that the three men, via the charitable trust they established to manage the winnings, have “provided all the information that they're required to under the law and have backed that up with paperwork.”

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Farricker told the Greenwich Time that there is no indication someone other than the three is the winner of the $254 million jackpot, which they claimed as a lump sum of about $103 million, after federal and state taxes, on Nov. 28, nearly a month after the drawing.

Last Tuesday the PR man repsresenting the Trust, Gary Lewi, with New York public relations firm Rubenstein Associates, released a statement saying that the three men are as had been reported through numerous media outlets.

"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," Lewi said. "And to be clear, there are a total of three trustees and there is no anonymous fourth participant."

The three men say they plan to donate a significant portion of the winning to charity. Last week the Putnam Avenue Family Trust announced that it would be donating $1 million to five non-profits serving military personnel. Each non-profit —the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, the Bob Woodruff Foundation, Building Homes for Heroes, Services for the UnderServed and Operation First Response — will receive $200,000, according to published reports and a statement from the Trust.

Despite the documents obtained by the Greenwich Time, the structure of the Trust, including its named beneficiaries, will remain private, according to reports.

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