‘Lottery lawyer’ who stole $107M from winners for yachts, private jets and luxury hotels is jailed for 13 years after funneling cash into Genovese mafioso’s Ponzi scheme
- Jason Kurland, 49, was convicted last July of wire fraud, honest services wire fraud and money laundering
- Part of his trickery was to funnel cash into Genovese mafioso Ponzi scheme
- His co-conspirator Christopher Chierchio, 54, was hit with a five-year prison sentence
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A Long Island man dubbed the ‘Lottery Lawyer’ who conned winners out of $107 million to fund his lavish lifestyle of yachts, vacations and sports cars has been jailed for 13 years.
Jason ‘Jay’ Kurland, 49, was convicted last July of wire fraud, honest services wire fraud and money laundering. Prosecutors said Kurland used his position as a lawyer to steer his clients to invest millions in companies he secretly owned and took illegal kickbacks based on those investments.
Among the shady deals Kurland entered into was an investment vehicle that turned out to be a Ponzi scheme masterminded by Genovese crime family soldier Christopher Chierchio.
The married father-of-three, a former partner at law firm Rivkin Radler, appeared in federal court in Brooklyn when he was handed down the sentence by US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis on Thursday.
Chierchio, 54, was hit with a five-year prison sentence. Both were also sentenced to three years of supervised release, prosecutors said.
Kurland’s lawyer, Telemachus Kasulis told DailyMail.com ‘we disagree with the outcome and look forward to bringing the matter before the Second Circuit.’
Con lawyer Jason ‘Jay’ Kandula (pictured right) 49, is walking into Brooklyn Federal court with his attorneys on Thursday
Kurland is a married father of three. His wife, Lauren Blyer Kurland pictured with the couples three children in a photo from 2015
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‘They were lucky winners, but when they met Mr. Kurland, they ended up to be losers,’ the judge said during the sentencing.
Damian Williams, the US attorney in Manhattan, said ‘these defendants who made the lottery winners their victims, their luck has run out.’
Chierchio, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, was ordered to forfeit $26.5 million and pay $30.5 million in restitution.
Kurland’s forfeiture and restitution amounts will be determined within the next 90 days, prosecutors said.
He argued at trial that he was deceived by other defendants in the government’s case about the investments.
Kurland’s stately home is located in Dix Hill and worth an estimated $1.7 million
Kurland built a law practice focused on representing lottery winners. Prosecutors said Kurland’s clients have won an estimated $3 billion combined.
The con lawyer told his clients to invest in deals and entities controlled by Chierchio and two other co-defendants without disclosing he received kickbacks from them, according to prosecutors.
‘Just before trial, Christopher Chierchio pled guilty to assisting Kurland in this fraud, while personally pocketing more than $25 million of the lottery winners’ money.
‘Now, the sentences imposed by Judge Garaufis show that for these defendants who made the lottery winners their victims, their luck has run out, and this Office will prosecute anyone who chooses to engage in fraud – no matter their title or degree.’
