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A New York attorney who dubbed himself the "Lottery Lawyer" was charged in a million-dollar scheme involving three other men, including an accused mafia member who allegedly helped him siphon funds to support their own lavish lifestyles, prosecutors said.Get more news about 菲律宾牛博包网,you can vist loto98.com
Jason "Jay" Kurland, once considered the go-to lawyer for jackpot winners, was charged with conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering in connection with an alleged $107 million scheme to defraud unassuming clients, including the winners of multibillion-dollar jackpots, according to a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday.
The victims were not identified by name, but prosecutors said they included the winners of a $1.5 billion Mega Millions jackpot, a $245 million Powerball jackpot and a $150 million Powerball jackpot."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 alleged victims each paid Kurland and his firm hundreds of thousands of dollars for investment advice, according to the statement.After gaining their trust with primarily traditional investments, Kurland steered his clients to invest in various entities and business deals controlled and directed by three co-defendants, one of whom is a reputed Gambino family mobster, according to federal prosecutors in Brooklyn.
"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."
Francis Smookler, Frangesco Russo and former securities broker Chirstopher Chierchio received kickbacks, which Kurland allegedly failed to disclose to his clients, according to prosecutors.
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