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- wire fraud,
- wire fraud conspiracy,
- money laundering,
- and money laundering conspiracy.
Acting U.S. Attorney Seth DuCharme said that Kurland, 46, has declared himself a “Lottery Lawyer” purporting to represent dozens of lottery winners throughout the country with total winnings of approximately $3 billion.
The actual victims of the scheme were the winners of the $1.5 billion Mega Million lottery, a $245 million Powerball winner, and the winner of a $150 million jackpot.
The three victims each paid Kurland and his law firm hundreds of thousands of dollars, in part so that he could advise them on how to safely invest their money, DuChance said.
After gaining their trust with primarily traditional investments, Kurland steered his clients to invest in various entities and business deals controlled and directed by Russo, 38, Smookler, 45, and Chierchio, 52, and received kickbacks in return – which Kurland failed to disclose to his clients.
It is alleged that the four then used the money from the victims’ investments to keep their scheme going and to enrich themselves. A portion of that money was funneled back to the victims and falsely presented to them as “interest payments” on their investments.
DuChance said other funds went to Kurland as kickbacks, and millions of dollars were stolen to support the four men’s “lavish lifestyles” that included private jets, expensive vacations, and luxury vehicles including two yachts.
The cash that the victims were advised to and invested in various entities and deals were, in large part, eventually lost.
According to DuChance, “In intercepted calls cited in court documents, the defendants can be heard discussing their scheme, attempting to cover their tracks and expressing concern about what might happen to them if they were caught by law enforcement.”
“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,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William Sweeney.
“The FBI New York discovered how these victims were persuaded to put large chunks of their cash into investments that benefited the defendants. 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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