The man a U.S. magazine claims is the creator of Bitcoin denies having anything to do with the virtual currency.

In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, Satoshi Nakamoto said he had never heard of Bitcoin until a few weeks ago.

On Thursday, Newsweek published 鈥�,鈥� which claimed that the 64-year-old was the elusive creator behind the troubled virtual currency.

A crush of media greeted Nakamoto outside his Los Angeles home on Thursday, and subsequently followed him throughout the city.

鈥淣o questions right now, I want my free lunch,鈥� Nakamoto said as he emerged from his home.

Asked how he鈥檚 involved in Bitcoin, Nakamoto responded: 鈥淚鈥檓 not involved in Bitcoin, OK.鈥�

Nakamoto, who is a Japanese-American physicist, and an Associated Press reporter were followed by reporters and photographers to a sushi restaurant and to the AP bureau, where Nakamoto gave the new agency and exclusive interview in which he strongly disputed Newsweek鈥檚 claims that he created Bitcoin.

The Newsweek feature is the result of a two-month investigation by reporter Leah McGrath Goodman.

In her story, McGrath Goodman said after extensive online digging that included interviews with Nakamoto鈥檚 family members and Bitcoin developers, she was able to track him down at his California home.

She describes a short encounter with Nakamoto, where he 鈥渢acitly鈥� acknowledges his role in the Bitcoin project but says he no longer has any connection with it.

鈥溾�業 am no longer involved in that and I cannot discuss it,鈥� he says, dismissing all further queries with a swat of his left hand,鈥� McGrath Goodman writes.

Created in 2009, Bitcoin is an encrypted virtual currency free from financial institution backing and traded online. The virtual currency鈥檚 popularity had been on the rise since its creation in 2009, however, growing controversy over its vulnerability to fraud and hacking has seen the currency鈥檚 value plummet in recent months.

With files from The Associated Press