The Lottery Lawyer Scandal: When Winners’ Advisor Stole Millions

The lottery lawyer scandal centers on Jason Kurland, a Long Island attorney who marketed himself as the safe pair of hands for people who suddenly won hundreds of millions of dollars — and who, federal prosecutors proved at trial, stole from the very clients who hired him for protection. In June 2023 a federal judge in Brooklyn sentenced him to 13 years in prison.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Kurland and three co-defendants were charged in a scheme that cost his lottery-winning clients more than $107 million. His clients included the winner of the then-record $1.537 billion Mega Millions jackpot, a $245.6 million Powerball winner, and a $150 million Powerball winner. He was convicted on all five counts in July 2022.

What makes the lottery lawyer scandal worth understanding is not the size of the theft. It is how ordinary the setup looked from the inside. Kurland was a licensed attorney at a respected firm, quoted in national media as the go-to adviser for jackpot winners. The people he represented did what most financial guidance tells you to do: they hired a lawyer first.

How the lottery lawyer scandal began with three record jackpots

Kurland built his practice on real wins. A single ticket sold at the KC Mart in Simpsonville, South Carolina took the $1.537 billion Mega Millions jackpot from the October 2018 drawing. As the South Carolina Education Lottery announced, the winner stayed anonymous and took the cash option of roughly $878 million when the prize was claimed in March 2019.

Another client was Nandlall Mangal, a Staten Island construction worker who won the $245.6 million Powerball jackpot from the August 11, 2018 drawing, as announced by the New York Lottery. Mangal had come to the United States from Guyana and kept working after the win.

Each of them faced the same problem: an enormous, sudden sum and no obvious map. Kurland presented himself as that map. The lottery lawyer scandal grew directly out of that trust, because the role he was hired for gave him access to accounts and investment decisions.

What prosecutors said Kurland actually did with the money

The core allegation, laid out in the Eastern District of New York indictment announced in August 2020, was self-dealing. Kurland steered clients into businesses that he secretly co-owned or controlled with co-defendants Francis Smookler and Frangesco Russo, then collected undisclosed kickbacks calculated as a percentage of what his clients put in.

Clients believed they were getting independent counsel. They were, according to the government’s case, getting a sales pitch from someone standing on the other side of the trade. In court filings described in the Second Circuit’s 2024 decision, prosecutors said that on one occasion Kurland took $19.5 million directly out of a client’s bank account without the client’s knowledge.

Co-defendant Christopher Chierchio pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. The Justice Department said Chierchio personally pocketed more than $25 million of the lottery winners’ money and sentenced him to five years in prison. Smookler and Russo also pleaded guilty; both had additionally been charged with extortionate extension and collection of credit.

The jewelry Ponzi scheme and the PPE deal that followed

The money did not simply vanish into private accounts. As reported by Law & Crime and detailed at trial, tens of millions of dollars flowed into a roughly $200 million Ponzi scheme run by Long Island jeweler Gregory Altieri. When that collapsed, the losses were enormous and immediate.

What happened next is the part of the lottery lawyer scandal that turned bad judgment into a second disaster. Rather than stopping, Kurland and his associates put tens of millions more into personal protective equipment deals in the spring of 2020 — face masks intended for resale to the state of California during the early pandemic. That deal fell apart too.

This is a documented pattern in fraud cases: a first loss gets chased with a riskier second bet. Prosecutors used it to argue the conduct was not a single lapse but a sustained scheme.

Inside the trial, the verdict, and the sentence

Kurland’s defense argued at trial that he was as much a victim as his clients — that he too had been taken in by the investments. The jury did not accept it. On July 26, 2022, after a trial before U.S. District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis, jurors convicted him on all five counts, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, honest services wire fraud, and unlawful monetary transactions.

On June 15, 2023, Judge Garaufis sentenced Kurland to 156 months — 13 years — in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered him to forfeit $64.6 million. As the ABA Journal reported, the judge found Kurland responsible for roughly $62 million in client losses at sentencing, a figure calculated differently from the $107 million charged in the indictment.

Restitution was left to be determined after sentencing. Kurland was also disbarred in New York, effective the date of his conviction, and his name was stricken from the roll of attorneys by the Appellate Division, Second Department.

What happened after the win for the people he represented

This is the part readers usually never see. The jackpots were real and the checks cleared, but for these clients the win was followed by years of litigation, testimony, and unrecovered money. The $1.537 billion Mega Millions winner, who had claimed the prize anonymously specifically to avoid being targeted, still lost tens of millions through her own attorney — more than $70 million, according to prosecutors as reported by the Post and Courier.

Mangal, the Powerball winner, has spoken publicly since about losing millions after hiring a lottery lawyer. Forfeiture of $64.6 million was ordered, but forfeiture and restitution are separate processes, and recovering money already lost in a collapsed Ponzi scheme and a failed PPE deal is not the same as getting it back.

Kurland appealed. On December 19, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed his conviction, rejecting challenges to a cell phone seizure, to jury selection procedures, and to the district court’s loss calculations.

What winners can learn from the lottery lawyer scandal

These are factual observations from the record, not advice. First, credentials did not prevent the loss. Kurland was a licensed attorney and a partner at an established firm, and the lottery lawyer scandal happened anyway. Vetting a professional’s license is a floor, not a ceiling.

Second, the structural problem in this case was undisclosed self-interest. The conviction for honest services wire fraud reflects the finding that Kurland had hidden ownership in the businesses he recommended. Conflict-of-interest disclosure is what that rule exists to protect.

Third, direct account access mattered. Prosecutors described $19.5 million moving out of a client account without the client’s knowledge. And fourth, anonymity alone was not a shield — the Mega Millions winner kept her name out of the news and was still harmed by someone already inside the circle of trust.

The lottery lawyer scandal produced convictions, a 13-year sentence, guilty pleas from three co-defendants, disbarment, and an affirmed appeal. Anyone facing decisions about a large windfall, taxes, or public benefits should speak with a licensed professional and the relevant agency about their own situation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was the lawyer at the center of the lottery lawyer scandal?

Jason Kurland, a Long Island attorney and former Rivkin Radler partner who publicly marketed himself as the “lottery lawyer” for major jackpot winners. He was convicted in July 2022 and sentenced in June 2023.

How much money was involved?

The Justice Department charged a scheme causing more than $107 million in losses. At sentencing, the judge found Kurland responsible for about $62 million in client losses, per the ABA Journal, and ordered $64.6 million in forfeiture.

Which lottery winners were the victims?

Court records and DOJ statements identify the anonymous winner of the $1.537 billion Mega Millions jackpot in South Carolina, Powerball winner Nandlall Mangal of Staten Island, and a $150 million Powerball winner.

Is Jason Kurland still in prison?

He was sentenced to 156 months in June 2023, and the Second Circuit affirmed his conviction on December 19, 2024. Current custody status is tracked by the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

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