A day after three wealth asset managers -- Gregg Skidmore, Brandon Lacoff and Tim Davidson -- claimed a $254 million Powerball jackpot in Connecticut, a friend of one of the men says the bankers are covering for the true winner, who wants to stay anonymous.

Tom Gladstone, a pal of one of the Belpointe Asset Management firm bankers, told ABC News the bankers were looking "to protect their client" from the scrutiny lotto winners are subjected to.

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Gladstone, a Greenwich resident, said the real winner likely will not ante most of the money to charity, as the bankers had claimed they would at a news conference announcing their win.