'Lottery Lawyer' Accused Of Scamming Over $100 Million From Winners

A self-proclaimed "lottery lawyer" is facing federal charges for allegedly scamming lottery winners out of $107 million. Federal prosecutors said that New York lawyer Jason Kurland, 46, promised the winners he would safely invest their money but instead funneled it to a reputed member of the Genovese crime family and his associates.

His victims included a $1.5 billion Mega Millions winner, a $245 million Powerball winner, and another person who won a $150 million jackpot. Kurland made it seem like the money was safe by paying his victims "interest" while using the money to fund a lavish lifestyle and other illicit operations.

Federal officials said Kurland gave the money to Christopher Chierchio, 52, who is a soldier in the Genovese crime family, former securities broker Francis Smookler, 45, and Frangesco Russo, 38. Kurland received kickbacks for his role in the scheme.

In one instance, Russo and Smookler used the money to give a $250,000 "street loan" to jewelry merchant Gregory Altieri, expecting to receive a $400,000 repayment. When Altieri didn't pay back the loan, the two men threatened to torture and kill his family while he watched.

Some of the money was used to invest in companies providing protective equipment to medical professionals battling the coronavirus pandemic. Kurland was happy as cases of COVID-19 spiked in Florida, telling an associate, "The worse it is, the better," in an intercepted phone call. 

Kurland and his alleged co-conspirators face numerous counts of fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy.

"Lottery winners can't believe their luck when they win millions of dollars, and the men we arrested this morning allegedly used that euphoric feeling to their advantage," FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William Sweeney said in a statement. "The FBI New York discovered how these victims were persuaded to put large chunks of their cash into investments that benefited the defendants," Sweeney said. "Rather than try their luck at the lottery, these men resorted to defrauding the victims to get rich, but their gamble didn't pay off."

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