The trust fund established by three Greenwich men who claimed the $254 million Powerball prize last month will expire in one year and the money will then go into a second trust, according to a copy of the trust agreement obtained by local media.
The three men signed an affidavit the day after a press conference announcing the Putnam Avenue Family Trust as the winner, swearing that the second trust — named the West Putnam Avenue Trust — has no silent partners and that no person ineligible to win the lottery is a member of the West Putnam Avenue Trust.
Timothy Davidson, Brandon Lacoff and Greg Sizemore formed the Putnam Avenue Family Trust on Nov. 22, according to documents provided to the Courant through a Freedom of Information request.
The records show that Davidson purchased the winning ticket at a Stamford gas station a day before the drawing. When the three men showed up at lottery headquarters on Nov. 28 to collect their winnings, Davidson first had to sign a document relinquishing his rights to the winning ticket to the Putnam Avenue Family Trust. A lump sum of $103.58 million was paid out after taxes.
Almost immediately after the trust was announced as the winner, rumors circulated that the three men were a front for a party that wanted to remain anonymous.
The day following the press conference, as speculation increased, attorney Gregory J. Pond e-mailed lottery officials a copy of the affidavit for review and offering to have the three winners sign it.
The affidavit states "no one other than one or more of the following individuals are the lifetime beneficiaries of principal or income of the West Putnam Avenue Trust."
It ends "this affidavit is made to the Connecticut Lottery Corporation with the understanding that it is relying thereon in determining that no ineligible person, as defined under all applicable law, rules and/or regulations, is a lifetime beneficiary or principal or income of said trust."
Computer records from the Stamford store show the winning ticket was purchased at 7:20 p.m. on Nov 1.
The three money managers, who work at Belpoint Asset Management, denied rumors that surfaced almost immediately after they claimed the money that they were a front for an unknown person who actually had won the lottery but did not want their name to become public.
The trust hired the powerful New York public relations firm Rubenstein Associates, denied there was a silent partner and pledged to use some of the money they had won for charitable purposes. On Sunday, it announced it was donating $1 million to four charities that work with war veterans.
Lottery officials have said that it is not unusual for winners to set up a trust for their lottery winnings and that they consider the three men legitimate winners.
Why is there such a big deal over this jackpot?
It boggles the mind. Let these folks enjoy their winnings!!
If this is what happens when you win a jackpot, then I'll be happy to win on the lower tiers on a regular basis.
This is beyond stupid!!!
Let these guy's enjoy their limelight. They won, let them have fun. There are so many swirling conspiracy theories about an anonymous winner, did they give enough to charitable causes, are they a front??? Blah, blah, blah.....
Let it go, we all (hopefully) will have our big day, you wouldn't want someone raining on your parade.
The trust hired the powerful New York public relations firm Rubenstein Associates, denied there was a silent partner and pledged to use some of the money they had won for charitable purposes. On Sunday, it announced it was donating $1 million to four charities that work with war veterans.
Pretty much says it all right there - issuing press releases through PR firm to clear their names
Mega Millions is now $100 million - as soon as someone hits, the media will finally drop the Putnam Avenue Trust and move on to the next story.
We were just talking about this the other day at my husbands company Christmas Party and someone asked what we would do if we won 100 million dollar jackpot maybe it is a sign of good things to come lol. Hope these people enjoy their winnings i know if it was me i would!
still not buying it. they just claimed that no one ineligible to win it didn't. doesn't mean they aren't covering for someone eligible. having trouble with the 1.00 ticket split 3 ways. makes no sense at all. don't care but still something's rotten in denmark on this one.
These guys collected this money for one of their investors they are still covering up their is no way that 3 people purchase 1 lottery ticket impossible.
When 3 or more people play the lottery they purchase anywhere from 10-100 tickets together now that would sound believable.
Hi Faber,
I agree with you something wrong here. The three way split of $1.00 is suspect plus when someone wants to protect their privacy, they usually hire an attorney and form a trust and then stay out of the press conference with the Lottery Commission.
These guys formed the trust, hired the attorney spokesperson and then showed up at the press conference and refused to answer questions. Why show up then? Did they want to promote their investment company?
Here is what I believe: They claimed the money for someone who doesn't want the IRS and Lottery Commission to know who he is. The three amigos now own all the money but have made a deal with the real winner to keep half for themselves and to ship the other half to the real winner in an off shore account.
However, this is a risky plan for the real winner because if the 3 amigos decide to keep all the money, the only way for the real winner to get it back would be to go to court and prove that the 3 amigos violated the written agreement they had. If that happens, we (including the IRS and Lottery Commission) would know the real winner behind the 3 amigos. The the real winner in this scenario would be in a very vulernable position.
Unless the real winner is a gangster and has lots of guns!
Anyway, what do you think of my theory?
Thanks, Golfer
I believe it is only these three winners [congratulations, by the way]. It is a whimsical, doable idea ... one $.33, one $.33, and one $.34 gamble on rotation.
A great way for three responsible people, who also want to be gamblers, to ALWAYS have enough money to play each large, multi-million dollar net drawing; without a spouse getting, understandibly, upset with greater odds of losing each draw and taking $$$ away from the family's savings or groceries monies.
Ok......, so if these guys are responsible for a MEGA COVERUPwhy don't we just contract the FBI, NCIS, CIA and all local, state and federal authorities to bring these <snip>s to justice???
Do I hear death penalty
??? Forget about our economy in the toilet, global wars, starvation, human rights violations, global warming, depletion of our natural resources....... these guys had the GALL, to win powerball 
Looks like a job for Seal Team 6 to raid their compound and obtain evidence of their cover up. Seriously though, who cares if they are trying to cover up. Someone won, it was claimed, and jackpot resets. End of story. And also to people who are saying how can they split a one dollar ticket.. well if you had an agreement with others to take turn buying the lotto, you can split the winnings into however many you please, even if it's just a dollar. This is what they call fractions people.
A few people who seem to be fixated on the "single one dollar ticket" aspect of this win by three people are apparently still missing (ignoring?) the point that they may have purchased multiple "single one dollar tickets."
But I'm not going to say a word about it.
I agree with you T12U...the real owner of the ticket doen't want the spotlight on him/her...no people calling your house at 3 a.m. .....nobody begging outside your door as your just getting into the car to go get some milk... Yes ....I would love to hit a jackpot but i dont want and never will want the spotlight....but i do want a ride in Todd's vett..lol..I just want to be left alone, to go throug life as the average Joe..thats it ....So yes i would hide it at all possible from the news people..
I agree.
Here's another "fishy" part of the whole thing. The rumours surfaced after a guy named Gladstone, who is a personal friend of one of the three winners, and who also rents them the office space their firm occupys, immediately blabed to the press that it was not them who really won. Why would he do that???? What's his motivation for doing such a thing???? He couldnt gain anything by doing it. Why would a guy who is supposedly a friend make up a story like that, and then run to the newspapers with it????
They did all the right things that somebody who won a multi-million dollar jackpot and wants to remain anonymous would do. Waited a while before claiming the money, hired a lawyer, set up a trust fund etc. And then they appear in public by showing up at the press conference??? I dont get that at all. And at that press conference they dont want to say much??? If that's the case they should have stayed home and let their lawyer handle it all.
I dont care either, and it's their money now. They can darn well do with it as they please. But the whole thing still smells fishy to me.
totally agree,but are you still the average joe after you win ?
what i'm tryin to say is does the average joe ever win ?
and does he stay average ?
You got it. It's gotta be on a nice day so we can ride with the top down.
is it a c6?
this sounds crazy and is.
i just remembered my 78 vet,
and doing 140 mph on the g.s.p. going south
where it crosses over the egg harbor.
still scares me to think i did it.
don't know what got in to me.
esp. knowing there might be a trooper on the cape may side of the bridge.
some of you are right that we shouldn't care if they are covering for someone who has irs problems or whatever or not. it's just that the lengths they are going to explain this seems fishy. and i don't care no one splits a 1.00 ticket 3 ways (i believe ridge that only 1 was bought) especially these rich guys would at least throw in 5.00 min apiece and would have purchased 3 tickets with 5 lines each.(not single separate tickets at a gas station) what would be their motivation to buy single tickets. the real winner must really trust these guys as they could make off with whole booty seemingly.
This is nobody's business, but the winner's !!!
Well, maybe they normally buy ten tickets and bought 9 at one store and the 10th at another. Maybe they already had their their tickets and the guy decided to buy one more on a hunch. I don't buy all my tickets at the same store all the time. Sometimes I'll go to different stores the same day.
I think the only reason there is such a big to-do about all this is because, being money managers they took their time getting everything in order, instead of rushing down to cash the ticket 10 minutes after the drawing like some people would. And the lottery expects people to do.
This just shows that the only true way to remain anonymous is by winning the lottery in a state that allows anonymity!
That is one thing that is good about living in Kansas you can stay anonymous!
Hey rundown,
Just my opionion but these 3 guys would have been anonymous if they didn't show up at the press conference. The only entity who would have known their identity would be the IRS and the Lottery Commission. At least that is what I read somewhere online.
Even if you claim the money under a trust they'd be the only ones to know the true identity. I read they do a social security number sweep to see if you owe child support or income taxes. Then they'll deduct that amount from your winnings. Have you heard that before?
Golfer
rundown you can remain anonymous using the trust
these 3 just came out and told the world
ofc for prioritizing purposes of their business for advertisement
via announcing who they are and what their businesses yes
the fact is these people use a trust with in a trust that is one of the most brilliant ways to hide whoever the real winners are
the lottery itself only has access to the first trust papers
as when you claim with the trust the lottery gets to see the trust papers make sure it's real trust claiming
the second trust is even so a freedom of information act could not find out the real beneficiaries are because the government does not have access to the second trust
the real beneficiaries are in the second trust even the third trust if there is one
they can swear up and down left and right all they want the fact is I believe they had earlier orders by the real winner to decoy themselves as the real winners
they are just following orders
if they wish to hide who they are great fantastic job well done, I just don't like them trying to you know have these clowns try to pass off as the the real winners when I know for fact they're full of it
actually try to fool anybody at all please future winners please try to fake it better.
Three Musketeers, the Three Stooges that these people are trying to claim they're the only winners
now these people had two different trust set up
the first trust is just a decoy the money goes in second trust
and it's going to take a court order ever get the real winners names as no one has access to the second trust
and there's no way in hell that is going to happen
mostly because it's none of our business or anyone else's business who the real winners are
but when you're trying to tell me flat out that you're the only winners when I know for Everything you have done is textbook trust defense to prevent the real winner from being found out by anyone
let's take a close look at the facts
these 3 Money managers waited over three weeks pretty much almost a month to claim
the problem with that is after two weeks you were losing bank interest that is money you could have been earning by taking all the cash and having it sit basically in some banks account collecting money for your
instead they choose to wait over two weeks thereby losing money they could have been earning interest with
The fact is these people have from the very start not been a bright fact is there just advertising for their business that is likely went public claiming they are the three winners in their managing the money
now if you're the only three real winners in you're going to use a trust within a other trust thereby making it near impossible for anyone but your lawyer your bank and yourselves to know who you are
they had the perfect defense,time I know we could ever the first trust the sole trustee of the first trust could just another lawyer the second trust we got the money and in the second trust can be managed by the money managers and then a third trust could be created to give it to whoever the hell else you want
the fact is logic to say these guys are nothing but the freaking front for the real winner they wanted to advertise their business exactly what they did
however people went and leaked the story and everyone in that area of Connecticut knows it's complete nonsense that therapy only three winners for cry out loud
their jobs are to manage other people's money for them large amounts .
No, it's a C5. I'm actually not that big a fan of the C6 design - I much prefer the "sexier" C5.
It's easy to get up to high speeds very quickly in a Vette, because they're super-stable, even at twice the speed limit.
Thanks buddy
Hi GiveFive,
Your comments make the most sense to me. I don't know why the others can't feel it. Why would the landlord lie? He's got nothing to gain.
Nothing wrong with anonyminty (we all know how to do that) but lying and dishonesty feels wrong. That is why this story has legs. I'm not saying they broke the law (they didn't) but....it stinks.
"Why would the landlord lie? He's got nothing to gain."
It got him his 15 minutes of fame, and people lie for a lot less than that. Why would one of the partners have told the landlord? What would they gain by doing that?
Some people just love to be in the spotlight.. Just like the first two guys that said then lost their ticket....And then there's the WINNER IN THE BACKROUND