Guyanese Powerball winner defrauded by lawyer grabs grand US$4M Westchester, New York home

Last Updated on Tuesday, 4 October 2022, 12:30 by Denis Chabrol

Reproduced from the New York Post

What would you do if you won the lottery?

A Staten Island Powerball winner, one who struck a $245.6 million jackpot in 2018, has just shelled out $4 million for a home in Westchester — some $305,000 over its asking price — Gimme Shelter has learned.

The buyer is Nandlall Mangal, a Guyanese-born carpenter, who bought a $6 Quick Pick ticket that August while grabbing groceries at a Stop & Shop supermarket on Hylan Boulevard. After arriving back at his humble ranch home in New Dorp, he put away his groceries and tossed the ticket off to the side. At the time, Mangal reportedly said, he only bought lottery tickets on a few occasions, generally when the jackpot headed north of $100 million. But that thrown-aside — and winning — ticket sat in its spot for days, and only after no one claimed the winnings, he decided to give it a look.

“The ticket sat on my kitchen table for a week because I was out of town,” on a trip to Ocean City, Maryland, he told reporters at the time of his win.

His one lump-sum payment totaled $99.32 million after taxes. However, the victory took a dark turn.

Jason Kurland, a lawyer in Long Island otherwise known as the “Lottery Lawyer” who represented winners, befriended Mangal. Mangal needed advice for investing his winnings and Kurland told him to invest in his business, according to the Sun. Kurland took illegal kickbacks based on his clients’ investments without their knowledge — and, in July, was convicted of defrauding them out of $107 million, according to Manhattan US Attorney Damian Williams. Kurland was found guilty of five counts of wire fraud, honest services wire fraud and money laundering. (Kurland pleaded not guilty to each count and alleged his business partners swindled him.)

These days, Mangal can look forward to something nice.

At 10,779 square feet, his sprawling stone-and-shingle colonial home comes with seven bedrooms and sits on 2.74 acres in Armonk. The listing was on the market for 17 days, asking $3.69 million, before entering contract. The all-cash deal closed in late August.

The custom home was built in 2007, and includes an outdoor patio area and a pool. Inside, the home features 20-foot ceilings in the entry foyer and 11-foot ceilings throughout, not to mention four fireplaces as well. The main bedroom boasts a dressing room and a spa-like bath with a steam shower and a soaking tub. There’s also a chef’s kitchen, built-in bookcases and a finished lower level with a recreation room, a wet bar and a gym.

The listing brokers were Donna Frost Gordon and Cord Stahl of Compass; Alexis Sierra, of Coldwell Banker, repped the buyer.