America Jason M. Kurland is a self-proclaimed "lottery lawyer" with a talent for helping jackpot winners invest big money.

Kurland promises to secure their wealth for generations and protect them from scammers.

Kurland, 46, was arrested yesterday morning at his home on Long Island with three other people, including Christopher Chierchio, 52, a trusted henchman of the famous Genovese crime family in New York mafia, according to

Kurland tricked three of the lottery winners, who hired him as a lawyer and to manage his fortune, investing $ 107 million in various amounts.

After convincing the winners to invest, Kurland and his three accomplices spent their money on membership cards for golf clubs, yachts, private jets, luxury cars and a series of other luxury products.

"The lottery winners are often so bleak that they can't believe their luck when they win the million dollar prize. The guys we caught this morning took advantage of their excitement," said William F. Sweeney Jr.

Kurland and his accomplices face a number of crimes such as fraud and money laundering.

Law enforcement officials have been eavesdropping on the Kurland group's phones for months, including conversations where the four discuss whether they could go to jail or not.

Winners had to pay between $ 75,000 and $ 200,000 in advance to hire Kurland and his law firm, according to court documents.

A spokesman for Rivkin Radler, the law firm where Kurland has worked since 2018, said it is actively cooperating with the investigative body and will remove Kurland's partnership as a partner.

In a 2016 interview with Vice, Kurland talked about the prevalence of fraud against lottery winners.

On his Twitter account, Kurland urged lottery winners across the country to hire him.

But backstage, Kurland got it back when he was able to convince lottery winners to invest in business deals run by Chierchio and his two accomplices Frangesco Russo, 38, and Francis Smookler, 45, run.

Several of the deals involved companies selling personal protective equipment during the Covid-19 pandemic to California and the New York Police Department.

In a phone call last month, Kurland told an associate that the growing epidemic in Florida was good for the job.

The Kurland group also gave the lottery winner's money to a jeweler named Gregory Altieri, with a highly promising profit.

Earlier this year, when Altieri failed to repay the loan, Russo and Smookler threatened to torture and shoot his family.

Law enforcement officials are seeking to recover stolen funds for victims by freezing 13 network-related bank accounts, which have been in operation since at least 2018.

In one case, Kurland transferred $ 19.5 million from a customer's account without consent.

According to prosecutors, Chierchio lives in a house for $ 11,000 a month in Manhattan.

Last month, while talking on the phone, Chierchio persuaded an accomplice not to worry about a federal investigation into the lottery scam network, saying that his entire life had been followed by authorities.

"Just bring the FBI here. Who cares?" Chierchio announced.

During several calls, Kurland discussed with his accomplices how to hide the network, fearing they were "playing with fire".

Smookler and Russo had guessed they would face charges of fraud.

"We're having some trouble," Smookler lamented.