Scamfluencers - ENCORE: Long Island Liars

Episode Date: September 30, 2024

The Lottery Lawyer’s luck has run out: Jason Kurland is now behind bars. We revisit how he went from a Long Island real estate lawyer to eventually representing major lottery winners. He claimed to help new millionaires and billionaires manage their wealth. But once these unsuspecting winners gave Jason access to their bank accounts, their sudden good fortune started to look like a curse. And Jason and his buddies felt like they hit the jackpot.Listen to Scamfluencers on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/scamfluencers/ now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to scamfluencers early and ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or Apple podcasts. Sarah, picture this. You're a lottery winner who is going to court in Long Island because your lawyer screwed you over. Please describe your outfit. I think I'll try and look as broke as possible for maximum sympathy. Go in wearing like a barrel with suspenders or something.

Right, like a cartoon. Yeah. That's a good answer. I would like to go looking like every season of The Nanny rolled into one, like full on mob wife. And that would be appropriate for the trial that we're going to talk about today. Do you remember the real estate lawyer turned lottery lawyer Jason Kerland?

Yeah, he's the guy who prayed on lottery winners and tried getting them to invest in his buddy's risky business, right? That's right. Well, we have an update for our listeners. Jason ran out of luck and was sentenced to 13 years in prison. He defrauded three lottery winners out of nearly $100 million. One of his pals, Christopher Churchio, who pocketed $25 million in winnings, pled guilty to money laundering. He got sentenced to five years. Of course, everyone's biggest defense here was their Long Island accents. In a statement, the U.S. attorney in the trial said that Jason, quote, violated his solemn

duties as a lawyer. We have new episodes of Scamfluencer starting October 7th on Wondry Plus and October 14th, wherever you get your podcasts. In the meantime, here's our encore of Long Island Liars. Haggy, what would you do if you won the lottery? That's so funny. I was just talking about this with a friend. If I won the lottery, I would take a very long time to claim my prize.

I'd make sure my ducks were all in a row. And then I would try and not tell anyone. Depending on how much money I'd win, I'd start off by like just buying homes for people. Oh, that's nice. Well, I ask because I'm curious if you think that you would make sound financial decisions for yourself or if you'd have to bring someone in to like help manage your enormous wealth. Oh my god, absolutely. Someone would have to manage my wealth.

I don't know what to do with all that money. Like I truly barely know what to do with the little money I have. Okay, well, it's a good thing that you and I are obviously self-made millionaires and not lottery winners because the story I'm about to tell you will make you think twice about ever wanting to hit the jackpot. In October 2018, a middle-aged woman is taking a scenic drive in Simpsonville, South Carolina,

when a convenience store sign catches her eye. It's advertising the Mega Millions lottery. The jackpot is up to more than a billion dollars. The woman, who now goes by a pseudonym, Beth Smith, is married with a couple of grown kids, and she works hard as an insurance underwriter. So she decides, ah, why not? She pulls into the KC Mart and goes inside.

I imagine the store is small and cramped. It has 24 packs of beer lining the walls and rows of cigarettes behind the register. Beth lets another customer go ahead of her in line and watches as they buy a ticket. She pays two bucks for her ticket and gets back in her car. That evening, Mega Millions announces the winning numbers. What's up, America? I'm John Krodus. Tuesday, October 23rd in tonight's Mega Millions jackpot.

It's a record-breaking $1.6 billion. Beth checks her ticket the next morning. She stands motionless for what feels like hours, and then she starts jumping and screaming for joy. She fucking won. But Beth sort of doesn't believe it. So she decides to go back to the KC Mart. She figures if there's nothing going on there,

she'll know that she made a mistake. But when she drives by, the scene is chaos. The fact that the winning ticket was sold in Simpsonville is big news. The store that sold winning ticket was sold in Simpsonville is big news. The store that sold it gets about $30,000. The parking lot is buzzing with TV crews. Even helicopters circle overhead. Later, Beth says this is when it hits her. Her life is never gonna be the same. Overwhelmed with anxiety, she stuffs her ticket in a safe deposit box and starts planning her next move.

Beth's husband is a lawyer, but they need someone who knows about the very niche world of lottery winnings. In a news coverage of the record-breaking lottery win, they keep seeing this one guy show up, again and again. His name is Jason Carland, and he's a lawyer from Long Island. He's tall and balding with big brown eyes, and he likes to give advice on what to do

if you win the lotto, like in this segment on Inside Edition. So let's say you do win that ginormous payout. What's the first thing you should do? First thing you do is stay quiet. All right? Don't tell your friends, don't tell your family. Jason calls himself the lottery lawyer. He represents a lot of big time winners.

Beth thinks his branding is a little gimmicky, but he does seem to know what he's talking about. So she and her husband decide to reach out. They get a burner phone and call Jason. They set up a meeting a couple months later in Las Vegas. And there, Jason tells them that he knows how to work with the lottery commission directly, so they can get their winnings without revealing their identities. Beth and her husband decide to hire Jason as their attorney for a $200,000 flat fee. Beth is on the verge of giving Jason access to all of her money, and she has no idea how

bad things are about to get. how bad things are about to get. I'm Indra Varma, and in the latest season of The Spy Who, we open the file on Klaus Fuchs, the spy who started the Cold War. It's the 1940s, and Britain hopes to beat the Nazis by making an atom bomb. But there's a traitor in the ranks. Klaus Fuchs, a German nuclear physicist and communist

who's secretly working for the Soviet Union. Whilst helping Robert Oppenheimer on the Manhattan Project, Fuchs stashes away atomic secrets for his Soviet spy masters. As he quickly becomes embroiled in a web of espionage, his double life threatens to unravel, leaving his true motives and final fate hanging in the balance. Follow the Spy Who on the Wondry app

or wherever you listen to podcasts. Or you can binge the full season of The Spy Who started the Cold War early and ad-free with Wondry app or wherever you get your podcasts. From Wondry, I'm Saatchi Cole. And I'm Sarah Haggye. And this is Scamfluencers. Come and give me your attention. I won't ever learn my lesson.

Turn my speakers to 11. I feel like a legend. This story has everything I love in a great scam movie. Fast-talking finance guys with New York accents, luxury spending sprees with embezzled cash, shady characters with ties to the mob, and FBI wiretaps. But my favorite part about this scam is that there's not just one. This scam is a scam within a scam within another scam. It is, if you will, a scamception.

And it all begins with a Long Island lawyer who found some luck of his own, but couldn't resist the siren song of unquenchable greed. This is The Long Island Liars. It's November 2011, seven years before Beth wins the lottery. Jason Kerland is toiling over a stack of paperwork on his desk. He's in his late 30s and a partner at a real estate law firm on Long Island.

Between the muted beige walls and harsh fluorescent lights, he's starting to feel suffocated by his daily grind. It's very Neo's desk job at the beginning of The Matrix, you know? And then Jason gets a call that changes his life. Three hedge fund managers from Connecticut have just won the lottery. $254 million. They want Jason to be their legal counsel. He came highly recommended by a mutual acquaintance of theirs.

But it is a little weird, because most of Jason's experience is in commercial real estate. Interesting. I mean, I wonder why they'd pick him? Well, whatever the reason, Jason jumps at the chance to represent these finance bros. And to be clear, Jason has a cozy suburban life. He's a loving husband and father. He married his law school

sweetheart, a petite curly-haired blonde named Lauren, but he wants to move up in the world. Maybe he feels like he's not living up to his potential. So a couple of weeks after agreeing to represent these hedge fund lotto winners, Jason travels to Connecticut for a press conference. His clients pose for a photo with their oversized check and then Jason stands in front for a press conference. His clients pose for a photo with their oversized check. And then Jason stands in front of a backdrop of red and black balloons and takes questions from reporters. But the next day, reporters start raising suspicions about these finance bros.

On ABC, an anchor reports that Jason's clients might not have won the lottery at all. Tom Gladstone, a longtime family friend of one of the trio, says this was all an elaborate ruse. The real winner, one of the men's wealthy clients. The bankers merely affront so that the true winner could remain anonymous. Wow. I guess I understand why someone would

want to remain anonymous if they won the lottery, but why can't he just not come forward? Well, Connecticut is one of 42 states that doesn't allow lottery winners to stay anonymous. So if the hedge fund guys falsely claim the prize on behalf of the rightful winner, it could be considered fraud. Unfortunately, we never get a clear answer on what actually happened, and we don't know if Jason had any direct involvement in this shady activity. But we do know that it ushers in a whole new avenue for his career. He leans all the way in and sets his sights on becoming the lottery lawyer.

A few months after the press conference, Jason's back in his drab office. Only now, he's not flipping through real estate contracts. He's taking calls from lottery winners. The coverage around the hedge fund bros raised Jason's profile. And now, other people want his help too. So he carves out his own niche in the firm. And according to his bio,

people around his office start calling him the lottery lawyer. Sarah, take a look at how Jason pitches himself on his website. It goes, a new member of the Millionaire's Club needs some leadership and knowledge in this situation. He needs clear guidelines, a clear schedule and a clear view of a future unfamiliar to him at the moment. Having a responsible attorney and accountant at your side could save you

millions of dollars. Okay, anyone could win the lottery, alright? You don't have to be a man to win the lottery. You're right. That's the problem here. That's the problem. Well, Jason is advertising himself as a reliable partner for lottery winners who become mega millionaires overnight.

Louise White is one of them. She's an 81-year year old woman from Rhode Island. She bought the winning $336.4 million dollar Powerball ticket while picking up some rainbow sherbert at the supermarket. Here's what she says as she accepts her jumbo size check next to her new lawyer, Jason. Well I want to say that I'm very happy and I'm very proud. And this will make my family very happy. We are truly blessed.

Thank you. Louise and Jason's other clients are not finance experts. They're ordinary folks who really need a professional to guide them through this windfall. And Jason promises to do just that. On his YouTube channel, he pitches himself as an expert who can answer all their questions. You want to limit your exposure in the media?

What happens at the press conference? Do you have to answer questions from the press? Do you want to create vehicles for your estate in the event something should happen to you? Do you need to worry about your safety and the safety of your children? Oh, I don't like this one bit. Doesn't he sound like an ambulance chaser? He sounds like Lionel Hutz from The Simpsons.

No, money down. No, money down. I'm so horrified by this. Well, Jason's services also do not come cheap. His clients have millions of dollars burning a hole in their collective pockets, and he sets his prices accordingly. He charges one client a $100,000 retainer and then a monthly fee of $15,000 after that.

That's so much money, even if you're rich. Like, I'm sorry, these people aren't in litigation, you know what I mean? Like, this is too much money. Well, as life-changing as the money is for Jason's clients, their money is just as life-changing for him. Over the next few years, Jason's shift into the lottery lawyer transforms his personal and professional life. He and Lauren move into a million-dollar,

six-bedroom home on an idyllic cul-de-sac in Long Island. Jason Kerland is finally living up to his potential. But there's a danger in his line of work. He's got direct access to a lot of wealthy people, and that makes him a mark. A few local entrepreneurs have set their sights on him, and they're about to make him an offer that he can't refuse. It's 2015, and the sun is shining down on a backyard barbecue.

The smell of charred meat wafs through the air above a luxurious swimming pool. The host of the event is a semi-retired financial securities advisor. His name is Frank Smukler. He's in his late 30s and he has a dad bod and short brown hair. Actually, he says he's semi-retired because the firm he worked for got in trouble with regulators. And Frank had to settle hundreds of thousands of dollars in disputes for allegedly mismanaging clients' money.

Yeah, that's one way to retire. Frank grabs a six pack out of the fridge and pads down to his basement decked out in sports memorabilia. Jason's there along with another guy who's also named Frank, Frank Russo. He's in his early 30s and lived almost his whole life on Long Island. He looks like he'd fit in just right with the cast of Jersey Shore.

He's descended from a line of mob bosses, but he's not in the family business. He's held a bunch of honest jobs since he was 13, and he's known Frank Smukler for about as long. These two guys are close. They call each other Cousy. The guys crack open their beers and strike up a conversation about a new business venture they're starting. It's a merchant cash advance company. Sarah, do you know what that is? Is that like payday loans? Is it one of those kinds of cash advance,

Is that like payday loans? Is it one of those kinds of cash advance, predatory things? Yes, you're exactly right. It is like a payday loan, but for businesses. So a merchant cash advance or an MCA offers funding to small businesses when they need it immediately. The way that it works is that an MCA buys a business's future sales.

And then those future sales go straight to the MCA until they're paid back in full. And of course, these companies charge insane amounts of interest. Like, it can be as high as 350%. I mean, it sounds pretty straightforward, but also like, if you can't pay them back, it's over for you, basically. Correct. And none of these men have experience in the MCA space. But it does sound lucrative, so they decide to go for it.

They form two companies, Cheddar Express and Cheddar Capital. Cheddar Express acts as a brokerage, matching businesses with MCAs, but Cheddar Capital also gives the MCAs, so it funds the businesses directly. Each of the men, including Jason, take a 20% stake in the business. They start asking their friends and family to invest. Because if Cheddar Capital wants to provide hefty loans, they're going to need a lot of cash. And luckily, Jason knows just where to find it. Not long after, Jason goes to visit his brother-in-law, Dr. Scott Blyer.

Scott is a successful plastic surgeon. He's got curly brown hair and a too smooth, shiny forehead that looks like it's the result of Botox. Scott is Insta-famous, and he actually goes by the name Dr. B. Fixin. He's known for creating the best Brazilian butt lifts in town. Sarah, do you want to see an example of a typical Dr. B. Fixon post?

And I will warn you, it's pretty graphic. I'm sorry, I'm still reeling over Dr. B. Fixon. Take your time. Oh, wow. It's like, I mean, the same body side by side, one before her breast lift with implants and mini tummy tuck, and the second one very soon after. Yeah, well, Scott ushers Jason into his kitchen,

and on the marble counter are fat stacks of cold, hard cash. Jason watches as his brother-in-law counts the money. There's $100,000 in total. Scott puts the cash in a shoe box and gives it to Jason to deposit into Cheddar Capital. And Scott later writes off the investment as an advertising expense. A couple of months later, Jason collects an additional $200,000 from Scott.

But Scott's investment is basically pennies compared to what Jason gets from his lottery-winning clients. In the fall of 2018, Jason convinces a new client named Nandlal Mungal to deposit $5 million into Cheddar Capital. Nandlal is 42 and wears glasses. He's a cheerful Guyanese immigrant and a carpenter from Staten Island. And he won nearly $250 million in the Powerball. He says that he hopes to buy a trip to Hawaii. But Jason tempts Nandlol with high returns on his investment.

Except there's a problem. Jason doesn't tell Nalol that he's a part owner of the business. He also keeps quiet about the fact that he's getting a 1% finders fee from Cheddar anytime he gets someone to invest. A $5 million investment would line Jason's pockets with $50,000. He's the only Cheddar partner getting those fees. A five million dollar investment would line Jason's pockets with fifty thousand dollars.

He's the only cheddar partner getting those fees. And he pretty much demanded it because of his unique ability to raise money from lottery winners. Okay, I now see the multiple levels of scam here. Because this guy has an in with rich people who truly don't know any better. And not only just recently rich, but they trust him. Because he's like, hey, I work with these high rollers. I know how to manage money and new winnings.

Right. Jason is treating his clients like his personal money tree. He charges them a monthly legal fee, and then he dupes them into funding his side hustle. And then to add insult to injury, he skims 1% off the top of the money they're entrusting him to invest. Jason is making bank, but he's riding high on borrowed luck. Emphasis on borrowed, because this scam you can listen to your favorite podcasts ad free?

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Follow Empire City on the Wondry app or wherever you get your podcasts. It's the fall of 2018 and the atmosphere at Rothman Steakhouse is as classy as ever. The upper crust of Long Island dine on Wagyu steak as they sip expensive wine carefully selected from a 40-page menu. This acclaimed restaurant once hosted the likes of Teddy Roosevelt, Jackie O, and Liz Taylor, but tonight it's hosting a man named Greg Altieri. For the record, Greg's image has been completely scrubbed from the internet. I can't find a picture of him anywhere.

But let's imagine he looks like an older version of Ray Liotta from Goodfellas. Greg is a jewelry wholesaler. He needs help financing his latest venture. So tonight, he's whining and dining Jason's business partners, Frank Smukler and Frank Russo. Greg tells them that he buys jewelry lots at clearout prices, and then he sells them to businesses like Costco for a 30 to 70% markup. Okay, I mean, it's not super easy to get retail space in a store like Costco, even if it's just online.

So I am very curious. Did he actually do this? I mean, probably not, but it does sound convincing enough. Jason, Smookler, and Rousseau want in, and Greg accepts a generous cash advance, courtesy of investments from Jason's clients. But Greg is not entirely honest about his business record. About a year earlier, he lost millions of dollars

to an acquaintance who claimed to be an oil baron. Looking to get whole again, Greg went on the hunt for some investors. First, he reached out to friends, neighbors, and colleagues. And many of them were retired cops and firefighters from Long Island and the outer boroughs of New York. He pitched them the same way he did Rousseau and Smukler. Buy cheap jewelry and resell at a high markup.

He guaranteed the same return on investment, 30 to 70%. Right away, he raised millions of dollars and told his investors the money would go towards buying more jewelry, but he pocketed the initial round of fundraising. And then he created and distributed fraudulent lot sheets with fake information about his quote unquote, jewelry purchases and the corresponding

return investors could expect. Afterwards, Greg went out looking for more investors and then he took their money and used it to pay out the earlier ones. This is also a Ponzi scheme, correct? Yes, this is a classic Ponzi scheme. And it's already well underway by the time Jason, Smukler, and Russo agree to lend him a bunch of money. Needless to say, this is gonna put them in a bad, bad spot. It's March 2019, a few months after Greg's steakhouse dinner, and Jason's in Columbia, South Carolina. He's riding in the backseat of an SUV escorted

by a security team. Jason can hardly contain his excitement because he has just landed a whale of a client. Billionaire lottery winner Beth Smith. Sarah, do you remember her? Yes, and I don't want to know how she gets scammed. I already feel so bad. I know. Just stay with me here. Jason and Beth are on their way to collect her prize. The group arrives at an underground garage where they're whisked into the lottery commission's office. The windows are covered and the security cameras are disabled to protect Beth's identity.

That's her number one concern. Beth turns in her ticket and Jason gets to work. He deposits her fortune into several bank accounts, which he opens in his name. Beth agrees to this, all the better to ensure her anonymity. Besides, she figures that Jason's law firm can provide the oversight that she needs. This is already destroying me once again, only because it's like clearly she really trusts him. I know. Well then, Jason informs the press of his client's big win.

And he texts Russo and Smookler about their latest windfall. Sarah, let's you and I read their texts to each other. You be Jason. I will be Smookler. OK. OK. Check the news. You're a celebrity. Legit. It's nuts. How's Greg? Everything is perfect. Guys, how quickly can we get the deal going?

I may have access to funds as early as tomorrow. Ready when you are. Jason, Smookler, and Russo aren't aware that Greg's diamond business is a total crock of shit. And sure, there have been a couple of red flags. For example, Greg tells the men that the money they lend him is going to a fulfillment center, except he does not have the paperwork to prove it. But Greg has been a reliable client. So far, he's paid back his debts. And that's what really matters, right? According to his later testimony, Jason collects investments from Beth like he does with all

his lottery winners. And he gets her to invest $30 million. He later says that he tells Beth that she should put a small percentage of her winnings towards a higher-risk investment, one that comes with higher earnings, like a merchant cash advance company. He doesn't tell Beth that he has a stake in the very same companies he's funneling her money into. And as if that wasn't bad enough, Russo and Smukler also take a portion of Beth's $30 million

for themselves. Jason later testifies that they consider it an advance. In the meantime, Jason, Smukler, and Russo treat themselves. Russo buys a $1.5 million house in Roslyn Harbor, and one of the men goes on a shopping spree at Dick's Sporting Goods, as men tend to do. They also buy Jason a Lincoln truck, except he doesn't like the color, so he makes them pay to have it repainted.

You gotta keep the lottery lawyer happy. Oh my god, the gall. That's what friends do, Sarah. Well, at some point, Jason testifies that Smukler and Russo tell him the truth about how they're affording all these giant purchases. And initially, Jason is concerned. But according to him, Russo says that they'll write everything down

as an operational expense, which makes sense to Jason. He thinks Greg's positioned to make them a lot of money. So what's the harm in taking a little advance? But then Greg starts missing payments. And by September 2019, he owes tens of millions of dollars. And with that, the walls of Jason Smukler and Russo's greedy empire start caving in. It's the end of 2019 and Frank Russo's pacing back and forth in his office as he yells at

Greg over the phone. Russo demands to know the name and address of one of his supposed customers. He later testifies that he's been in a months-long battle trying to get this simple piece of information out of Greg. It's another one of the many red flags that have been popping up. On top of the mispayments, no one knows who Greg's been selling his jewelry to. He can't provide any tangible evidence that his business is legitimate.

All he provides are excuses. Once, Greg even lied about a non-existent Jewish holiday to explain a late payment. I'm gonna start doing that with Muslim holidays. Oh, it's second Ramadan. Yeah, I mean, who would fact check you? No one would. They'd be like, I respect you and I see you.

Well, Russo's at his wit's end. Finally, he gets a name and address out of Greg. Supposedly, he's been working with a receiver in Manhattan's Diamond District, some guy named Sam. Russo makes a mad dash into the city. He weaves and bobs through pedestrians as he ignores aggressive sellers outside their shiny window displays.

Finally, he arrives at a building on 47th Street. It's locked. The Diamond District's got tight security, but Russo is motivated. He punches the intercom over and over until he's let in. Except inside, he's met with more locked doors and intercoms. He basically brute forces his way into every room in the building, frantically looking for this Sam guy.

But he comes up empty-handed. This dude is nowhere to be found. He might not even exist. So this is the uncut gems part of the story. Isn't it nice? It's so cinematic. Yeah, and the ending of that movie was great. Yeah.

Well, this is where everything starts to unravel. Around this time, Jason returns $300,000 of Scott's cash. The money was supposed to be funneled into Greg's jewelry business, but Jason tells his brother-in-law it's not a good time to invest. And then Nandlal informs Jason that the FBI showed up at his house. A few months later, Nandlal receives a scary letter from the SEC. All this is happening while Greg continues to default on his loans, which means Jason's clients' investments are bust.

Finally, Jason, Smookler, and Russo realize that they have fallen victim to Greg's Ponzi scheme. Wracked with guilt over losing his clients' money, Jason doesn't sleep or do much of anything. But Smookler and Russo take matters into their own hands. In an effort to get their money back, they take legal action against Greg, and they harass him over the phone. Smookler tells him he's going to get tortured. Russo tells Greg he's going to, quote, make him watch as they rip his son's

teeth out of his mouth and pop his head off in front of his kid. So is that after the kid's teeth are out, then they pop him? Yeah, you know, I do have some procedural questions for sure. I mean, if my teeth had just been pulled out, I don't know if I'd be able to focus on anything else. Well, unfortunately, this mob tactic backfires. Smookler and Russo don't know it yet, but the FBI has been recording their calls. Someone tipped them off about their shady activity. And we don't know exactly who, but Sarah, my money's on Greg.

Jason, Smookler, and Russo are screwed. They're being trailed by the feds, and Jason's mishandled tens of millions of his clients' money. Clients he had a duty to protect, but he's not ready to come clean. Instead, he goes searching for a miracle. It's March 2020, and a man named Christopher Turchio is hunched over his computer at his home in Brooklyn. He's 52 years old and built like a bulldog. I imagine he takes a sip of coffee

as he publishes the latest entry on his blog. It's called, How Millennials Are Helping to Change Philanthropy. Christopher contains multitudes. To quote his Medium.com bio, he's a proud member and servant of the Brooklyn, New York community, a strong supporter of the American Cancer Society, and a firm believer in a strong family who enjoys spending time with his wife of more than 21 years.

Christopher's also the owner of a plumbing business. And in his free time, he writes posts about philanthropy and things to do in New York. Seems like a nice guy, right? Yeah. I mean, he seems like the nicest guy who's been introduced into the story so far. He's pretty low bar. Yeah. I'm like, okay, he's just he's merely a simple blogger. Well, there is a catch with Christopher.

He's supposedly a member of the Genovese crime family, which is basically mob royalty. So naturally, Christopher's got a checkered past. In 2004, he was convicted of bribery and spent two years in jail. In 2019, he was accused of bid rigging, but he was acquitted. Through his blog posts, he's been able to rebuild his public image as a charitable volunteer. And it must work because he's recently been hired

by a company that's doing business with the state of California. Okay, so basically all you need to do to right your wrongs of the past is to blog about it. Mm-hmm. Okay, but also you have to remember this is March 2020, right? It's the beginning of the pandemic and California wants to get their hands on a bunch of PPE. So they sign an $800 million agreement to buy masks and face shields from a company

called Bear Mountain. Bear Mountain then hires Christopher as one of their many subcontractors. But it is a little strange that a plumber like Christopher somehow talked his way into this deal that has nothing to do with plumbing. Regardless of how he pulled it off, he's now looking for $20 million to fulfill his agreement with Bear Mountain. Sarah, I will give you three guesses as to where he gets this 20 million dollars from. I think he gets it from being a really good blogger.

Clearly his blog is monetized. I think he worked probably really hard to get that money. And I think he's just a great person who earned millions in a short amount of time, you know? Are any of those correct, Sachi? Uh, no, but I always enjoy your enthusiasm. Luckily, Christopher knows a guy who knows a guy who knows another guy, who knows Smookler and Smookler tells Jason about Christopher and this opportunity to

invest in PPE and Jason is thrilled. With this new deal, he'll be able to make his clients whole again. Jason's trying to do right by them, and he's going to do whatever it takes to keep them and their money around, even if it means committing an act adjacent to grand larceny. At a time when we're debating where policing is going, we're going to tell you where the police came from. They wanted me to write about the New York City Police Department, but without using the words violence or corruption, which is effectively impossible.

A story of how the largest and most influential police department in the country became one of the most violent and corrupt organizations in the world. Doesn't matter if you're a self-emancipated by person or if you're a free, they're just sending people back to the south, kidnapping them. When officers with the power to fight the danger become the danger. I was terrified.

I'm not gonna talk to the police because they're the ones who are perpetrating this. Who am I gonna talk to? From Wondry and Crooked Media, I'm Chinjirah Kumanika, and this is Empire City, the untold origin story of the NYPD. Follow Empire City on the Wondry app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of Empire City early and ad-free right now by joining Wondry+. And I feel like a legend Jason's back in his office.

He takes a deep breath and prepares to make one of the most important calls of his life. He dials Beth Smith, the lottery winner. But he's not about to tell her that he lost a bunch of her money in a Ponzi scheme. Instead, he asks if she wants to help fund the efforts to distribute PPE. She's the perfect investor. One of the first things she did after winning the lottery was donate to causes like the Ronald McDonald House, Hurricane Florence relief, and the American Red Cross. So Jason figures that Beth will be thrilled to help with the COVID crisis. And he's right. Beth invests $19.5 million.

She also makes it clear that she doesn't want to personally profit off of any of it. Whatever money she makes from the deal should go to charity. Jason agrees and he withdraws the money from her account, which remember is in his name. Then he sends it to Christopher. But 10 days later, without getting Beth's consent, Jason withdraws another $19.5 million and he throws it towards the PPE. That's $39 million gone from Beth's lottery winnings.

But Jason figures he'll be able to pay her back. After all, Christopher's doing business with a company that's been hired by California. The contract is legit. There's no way he's getting swindled again. How is he so stupid is my question. Do you know what I mean? It's like, you're a scammer. You should know that this will not work out.

Yeah, you're right. Obviously things do not work out. Yeah, you're right. Obviously, things do not work out. A couple of months later, California cancels the contract with Bear Mountain. Christopher's only been paid out $7 million. At least some of it was spent on PPE. But Christopher's pocketed a bunch for himself. And now, the rest of Beth's money is gone.

So $39 million is missing from her $1.5 billion win? Yeah. I mean, she is still filthy rich, but that's still insane. Like you can't just do that to someone. Yeah. Well, the loss is like pretty catastrophic for Jason. If he can't pay back those millions before anyone realizes it's missing, he's doomed.

He's got an FBI sized target on his back To pay back those millions before anyone realizes it's missing, he's doomed. He's got an FBI-sized target on his back, and this latest stunt makes him look so guilty. Jason is desperate, so he reaches out to his associates for a lifeline, only to realize they have hung him out to dry. It's the spring of 2020, and Rousseau's driving around, possibly in some kind of luxury car he bought with company money. As he speeds down the Long Island Expressway, I imagine he gets a call he begrudgingly accepts. On the line is Jason, and he's having one of his many freakouts.

Jason tells him that every single dollar they make needs to go back to paying their debts. He even threatens to report Christopher to the DA. Luckily, Russo talks some sense into him, and he assures Jason everything is fine. They'll get the money from Christopher. Don't worry. But then, Russo hangs up. And like a scene out of Mean Girls, he dials Smookler and gossips about Jason behind his back. They make fun of him for, he dials Smookler and gossips about Jason behind his back.

They make fun of him for thinking he can scare Christopher. They mock him for his constant pleas to make things right. Russo tells Smookler he doesn't give a fuck about hurting a billionaire. He also says he doesn't care about paying Jason back. His whole plan is to not give him back a dollar. Russo even tells others involved in the PPE deal to stop communicating with Jason altogether. He tells them that all questions and updates should go through Smukler and himself.

I'm wondering, okay, so was one of them recording this call? Is that what's happening right now? Yes. Somewhere out there in some dingy office, a federal investigator is crouched over their desk transcribing every word of these calls. So now everything is on the record. The lying, the stealing, the threats.

The feds know about it all. And finally, there's enough evidence to take Jason and his partners down for good. It's August 2020, a few months after his call with Russo, and Jason's probably playing soccer with his kids in his backyard. They have a big tournament coming up that weekend. Jason's helping them practice. When suddenly, he hears someone banging at his door. He makes his way to the front of the house and finds a group of federal agents with a

warrant for his arrest. The jig is up. Jason is cuffed and taken into custody. Smookler, Russo, and Christopher are arrested the very same day. All four men are charged with various counts of wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering, and money laundering conspiracy in connection with a scheme to defraud Jason's clients. Jason is also charged with honest services fraud for lying to his clients. The indictment alleges that he defrauded them out of $107 million.

It's a mess. At first, all four men claim their innocence. But over the next several months, everyone except for Jason pleads guilty. Jason wants his day in court, so he gets a lawyer and is released on bond signed by his brother-in-law, Scott. And side note, Scott is still kicking it around as Dr. B. Fixon. He even self-published a book called The BBL Bible, How to Get a Butt to die for without dying for it. Meanwhile, on July 13th, 2022, almost two years after his arrest, Jason is led into a federal courtroom in Brooklyn. It's time for the trial.

Jason's attorney stands in front of the jury and argues that he's actually a victim in this case. Jason was tricked by Smookler and Russo. But the prosecuting attorney says that Jason intentionally lied. It seems like he did. I mean, it's weird because throughout this story, there's like a level of guilt Jason feels. And it's kind of like, I think in his mind, he probably thinks like, okay, maybe I didn't tell them everything, but my intention was to get their money back.

Yeah. Well, over the next two weeks, Jason and a jury of his peers watch as a parade of victims take the stand. Their testimony is damning. On the first day of trial, Nandlal tells the courtroom that Jason didn't disclose his interest in Cheddar Capital,

and he didn't know about the 1% kickback fee. He says, quote, "'If I had known that he was getting paid, yes, it would have made a difference. And if he was getting paid, it wasn't because of my best interests. Then Beth talks about her experience with Jason and why she initially trusted him.

Based on all of the press, he seemed like an expert. Also, the process of turning in the ticket went smoothly, and Jason's advice was always in line with what she wanted. He worked for a large reputable firm, and there was oversight, or so she thought. But Beth goes on to testify that she wasn't given access to her own bank accounts. She never even saw her statements. And when things started going south, she had to jump through hoops to prove that the money was actually hers. Beth and her husband also tell the jury that they felt blindsided by the perks that Jason gave them.

They say he was able to get them tickets to the Masters Golf Tournament and the Kentucky Derby, and he even got them an autographed photo of Notre Dame football player Rudy Rudlinger. Sarah, I know you're a huge football fan, so I don't have to tell you this, but that's the guy that the classic sports movie Rudy was based on. Oh, and you know what?

She's like a real do-gooder, so it makes sense that she loves Rudy. Yeah. Well, there's mountains of evidence and testimony that make Jason look super guilty, but his lawyer seems to think that they have one saving grace. The wiretapped audio of Smookler and Russo mocking Jason behind his back. In various clips, Smookler and Russo call Jason a chicken. They call him stupid and they refer to him as their prey. Uh, that's pretty damning, you know, referring to someone as your prey. Well, on July 21st, the defense rests. Five days later, the jury is sent to deliberation

and they reach a verdict on the very same day. Jason is found guilty of all charges. His sentencing is scheduled for this April. He faces up to 20 years in prison. All right, Sarah, I took you through this lottery scam, this very layered lottery scam. We went to Costco. We figured out lots of new things about money

that we never needed to know. Yeah, the story is pretty wild, especially because you can tell that there was a part of Jason that truly didn't think this was an actual scam. Do you know what I mean? He was like, well, these people don't know any better. They have all this money. If I invested in this way or do this thing, I will be able to get it back. Like, he, I think, to a

certain degree, convinced himself that he wasn't scamming. I think in a lot of ways he sees himself as the victim here. I think most people who start or engage in Ponzi schemes think that they're smarter than the average bearer. Yeah, I think he really thought, like, I won't screw anyone over in the process because these people will get their money back. Yeah. Jason was able to perform this scam in part

because winning the lottery is kind of terrifying. Mm-hmm. And no one really knows what to do, and the money is scary, and managing the money is scary. But above all, having everybody know that you have that money is scary. But above all, having everybody know that you have that money is terrifying. Yeah, and also the lottery itself is a scam. People get addicted to gambling through it and they see stories like someone winning $1.2 billion

and they think like, oh, that could happen to me. Like I do think that there's just a lot that isn't talked about probably because not many people actually end up winning that much. It's usually like split between a bunch of winners. But there's just, you know, there's scam written all over it. People are not set up to win at life

when they win the lottery. No, there's a reason they all go broke. I would be amazed if Beth was able to clear through $1.5 billion, however. That's why, you know, you win and you just pretend you didn't. The moral of the story is if you do win the lottery to continue living as you have been living, because it's the best way to survive the money.

Yeah, and then, you know, just randomly be like, hey, guys, maybe we should all go to Bora Bora. Periodically rent an island. Don't explain why you can't. Just do it. Yeah. Buy some flights, show them a nice time, and then go back to your regular life. on Apple podcasts. Prime members can listen ad free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. This is the Long Island Liars.

I'm Saatchi Cole. And I'm Sarah Hagge. If you have a tip for us on a story that you think we should cover, please email us at scamfluencers at wonderi.com. We use many sources in our research, a few that were particularly helpful, where the lottery lawyer won their trust, then lost their mega millions, by Simon van Zylenwood for Bloomberg Business Week, and, with the Powerball jackpot so high, Be Careful What

You Wish For, an SC Winners' Caut cautionary tale by Lynn Riddle for the state. Liz Galales wrote this episode. Additional writing by us, Sachi Cole and Sarah Hagge. Our senior producer is Jen Swan. Our producer is John Reed. Our associate producers are Charlotte Miller and Lexi Peary. Our story editor and producer is Sarah Enni. Alison Weintraub is our story editor.

Sound design by James Morgan. Fact checking by Will Tavlin. Additional audio assistance provided by Adrian Tapia. Our music supervisor is Scott Velazquez for Freeze On Sync. Our managing producer is Matt Gantt and our senior managing producer is Tanja Thigpen. Kate Young and Olivia Richard are our series producers. Our senior story editor is Rachel B. Doyle.

Our senior producer is Ginny Bloom. Our executive producers are Janine Cornelow, Stephanie Jens, Jenny Lauer Beckman, and Marshall Louie for Wondery. Wondery. Wondery. Hello, I'm Dax Shepard. And I'm Monica Padman. And we are in our seventh year of hosting actors, musicians, athletes, presidents, CEOs,

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