On the morning after she became a multi-millionaire, a South Carolina woman drove by the convenience store where she bought her lottery ticket to make sure she didn't make a mistake.
She had seen the numbers on TV, and they were the largest Mega Millions prize to be won by one ticket.
I would say "okay, well this was a disaster, we made a mistake, and I'd drive home and all would be good" if there wasn't anyone there. There was a lot of media as we passed by the convenience store. I was so anxious that I wanted to go under the seat.
She testified in a trial earlier this year in which her lawyer was accused of taking money from some of his clients in her case of more than 80 million dollars.
The South Carolina woman was allowed to testify under a different name.
Her testimony offers a glimpse into her overnight transformation from an insurance underwriter with a checking account and a 401(k) to a wealthy retiree with a net worth of $600 million.
The cautionary tale for those who come into large amounts of money unexpectedly is provided by her story.
Beth Smith testified against Kurland.
She felt a range of emotions when she saw the numbers on her ticket.
She thought it was a blessing and a concern. She didn't want to be noticed. She and her husband had a good life in their 50's. They had been married for 36 years. She wanted to stay the same.
She felt people knew who she was even at the convenience store. She was concerned about her family's safety.
onymity was very important.
They put the ticket in a safety deposit box.
We looked at lawyers. Financial advisers were considered. We looked at accountants. She mentioned that they considered investment firms.
They chose an attorney because they knew who to bring in for other advice and an attorney would keep their confidence.
They watched an attorney talk about winning the lottery. He represented many big lottery winners, including $336.4 million in Rhode Island and $252 million in Connecticut.
He lived on Long Island with his wife and children and worked for a law firm.
She thought the lawyer's name was odd, but she saw him on the news.
He had a specialty in lottery winners and he was on the morning shows. Smith said that he seemed very capable after looking online.
In December of last year, her husband called her. He didn't want to know their names. After that, they met in Las Vegas.
They needed Kurland's help to collect the prize, distribute money to charity and keep their name out of the news. He would become more involved in their financial lives over the next eighteen months.
Five months after winning, the Smiths met with Kurland in Columbia, but the exact location was not identified in court. They were picked up by security and taken to the lottery office on South Main, two blocks from the State House.
The security cameras had been turned off. The windows are not open. The day was Sunday. There were several lottery officials at the meeting.
The Smiths made $878 million before taxes. The fee was $200,000.
The media was told a few days later. He said the woman was from South Carolina and was in the area for a while.
She stopped at the store on the spur of the moment.
She gave money to the City of Simpsonville Arts Center, Ronald McDonald House of Charities of Columbia, and the American Red Cross Alabama Region - Tornado Relief Fund.
The amount of money went to each person.
The $100 million to two and $50 million to two others would be distributed by Bank Leumi USA. Money managers are in the house.
We wanted this to be invested in a conservative way because we believed that this blessing would be given to my family and we would have it generationally. She said that they didn't need to take any risks.
The accounts were set up to keep their identities a secret.
He was able to see it. We did not, that's right. She said that he set it up as if it was his account.
They didn't receive statements or balance information.
Information would come from Kurland.
He will be paid $50,000 a month by the Smiths for the foreseeable future.
Smith arranged for her husband to go to the Kentucky Derby with her sister and brother in law. At one point, Steve Smith received an autograph photo of Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, whose story was made into a movie.
Two days later, he brought two investments to the Smiths. Money is lent to small businesses. The interest rate on the Smiths' investment is 9%.
A family fund called Cedar Ridge Partnership would be given interest and monthly income of $12,500 to 10 family members.
He and other lottery winners had done well with a diamond merchant who would pay $2 million on an $18.6 million investment in six months.
They should invest in race horses. A million dollars will get them three horses and a year of training.
The company they invested in was trying to provide PPE to the State of California.
The Smith's were loud. They bought a house in South Carolina, a house in another state, and a place for a family member to live outside the United States. They bought a place to stay. There are a lot of real estate transactions.
The cracks began to show.
Payments to family members were irregular. Sometimes it went directly from the company to my family members. The amount of money that we were guaranteed in the documents was not what they were. It's really troubling.
The FBI contacted her about the investigation of the diamond merchant. She was reassured byKurland It was all good. The merchant was accused of being a Ponzi scheme by the government.
The Smiths and two other lottery winners were involved in deals that resulted in the arrest of four people.
August 2020 was that month.
Smith didn't know how to get access to her money.
She had no idea who the wealth investors were. You don't just call the number and talk to someone.
She was concerned that if Kurland was out of jail, he would still have complete control over her money.
She wanted a stop to that.
She needed a copy of the ticket. The commissioner took it to her home.
She said they were very thankful.
The bank had to prove the money was hers.
Smith said that he earned a 1% finders fee on some investments and had an interest in two companies. He didn't buy three horses. She had her account taken from her without her consent.
She told the court that the only thing she could think of was theft.
She didn't know where the money was.
A story published before Kurland's trial shows the twists and turns of his life from working on small-time real estate deals to becoming involved with people on the fringes of organized crime.
Kurds and his associates were accused of swindling lottery winnings to pay for boats, luxury cars, country club memberships, and other clichés. One of the crew threatened to kill the family of a man who turned out to be a federal Informant.
According to the magazine, prosecutors intended to accuse the three of using lottery winnings as a "slush fund" for personal expenses such as a Range Rover.
According to court documents, a jury in Brooklyn, New York, found Kurland guilty of five counts of wire fraud and honest services wire fraud.
Three lottery winners lost more than 100 million dollars.
He said he was deceived by others in the scheme. Two of them, Francis "Frank" Smookler and Frangesco "Frank" Russo are awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to wire fraud.
Christopher Chierchio was identified in the New York tabloids as a Genovese crime- family soldier. He is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to two crimes.
The co-conspirators had tapes of their conversations.
A diamond merchant pleaded guilty.
Beth and Steve are wondering why.
The prosecutor asked Beth Smith if she thought better questions in the case would have made a difference.
I don't think that's true. I don't think they would have happened if I had asked more questions.
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