The three asset managers spent time making plans for their winnings before going publicThree US wealth managers who picked up a $254m (£163m) lottery jackpot deny claims they just collected the cheque for the real winner, their client.
Greg Skidmore, Brandon Lacoff and Tim Davidson came forward as the winners at a news conference on Monday.
They said Mr Davidson bought the $1 ticket at a petrol station and they had formed a trust to manage the money.
But an associate said the real winner was a client who wanted to remain anonymous.
Thomas Gladstone, who is reportedly a landlord for the men's company, said he had called Mr Lacoff on Monday to ask him about the Powerball win.
'Client matter'"He said, 'no, I didn't win the lottery. We're representing the guy who did,"' Mr Gladstone told the Associated Press news agency. "He said he represents the guy who's staying anonymous."
Mr Gladstone said he was told the three asset managers were protecting the real winner by putting his funds in a trust.
The actual winner was a client of the men's firm who does not want publicity, because people "get harassed and hounded when they win the lottery", Mr Gladstone added.
The three men are from Greenwich, Connecticut, one of the most affluent towns in America.
They work for Belpointe investment advisers, which has about $82m in assets under management, according to Securities and Exchange Commission documents.
A statement from the three men's Putnam Avenue Family Trust denied the claim of a fourth man.
"There has been much speculation and quite a bit of misinformation over the last 24 hours," said the statement.
"To be clear, there are a total of three trustees and there is no anonymous fourth participant," it added.
The trust also announced that in the next 10 days, $1m would be donated to causes to help military veterans in the region.
"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.
Chris Sandys, a portfolio manager at Belpointe, told Reuters news agency that the firm was not allowed to comment on a "client matter".
Lottery officials said the three men's jackpot claim had met all "applicable rules and integrity standards".
They added that "it is not uncommon for Powerball winners to be identified as individuals, trusts, partnerships or other legal entities".
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