So-Called “Lottery Lawyer” Scammed Winners Along With Genovese Mobsters

A so-called Long Island “lottery lawyer” has been revealed to have scammed jackpot winners out of over $100 million in prize money.

State Lottery Winners Ripped Off By Lawyer/Mobsters

46-year-old Jason Kurland sought clients/victims from across the US, among which is also a $1.5 billion Mega Millions winner, with the promise to invest their winnings to turn a profit. With that sounding as good as it does, Kurland instead threw his clients’ money into shady investments run by Genovese crime family soldier Christopher Chierchio and two others, the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District said.

Chierchio and his partners apparently funneled a portion of the money back to the lottery winners to make it seem like “interest payments.” Kurland also allegedly got kickbacks for directing the money to Chierchio, with the total sum from 2018 until today that the group scammed being about $107 million, prosecutors revealed.

The money went to funding the group’s lavish lifestyles, which include expensive vacations, private jets and two yachts, prosecutors said.

45-year-old Francis Smookler and 38-year-old Frangesco Russo are also accused to have been part of the scam, allegedly using some money from Kurland’s clients to float a $250,000 “street loan” to jewelry merchant Gregory Altieri.

The feds alleged that the two threatened the jeweler and his family into repaying $400,000. All four were arraigned for money laundering, wire fraud and conspiracy charges by US Magistrate Judge Lois Bloom, although they were released on bond, with Chierchio’s being set at $3 million, Smookler’s at $2.5 million, Russo’s at $2 million and Kurland’s at $1 million.