A Rockville bankruptcy lawyer pleaded guilty Friday to scamming 21 victims who lost a total of $4.2 million, the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office said in a news release Monday.

Authorities found that between May 2022 and September 2024, Sari Kurland, 64, got victims to give her money under fraudulent promises of greater monetary returns and legal and financial services that were not provided.

In her largest scheme, Kurland, who had an office at 211 Jersey Lane in Rockville, received loans from 18 people who believed she was brokering a Middle Eastern petroleum deal, officials said. She promised them repayment within one month or less after the deal’s closing.

Prosecutors found that the money was wired to an overseas account and none of the victims were ever paid back despite their pleas to Kurland for repayment.

Two other victims got caught up in transactions involving cryptocurrency where Kurland supposedly held funds in her attorney escrow account to facilitate the deals. But investigators found that she used that money for other purposes.

Other schemes

One business owner had a retainer agreement with Kurland to assist him in filing for bankruptcy amid financial challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, authorities said. She convinced him to settle his seven unfulfilled customer contracts rather than file for bankruptcy. The business owner gave her $150,000 to settle with the customers but only two payments, totaling $34,600, were made, according to the news release.

The remainder ended up in Kurland’s attorney trust account and were dispersed to parties unrelated to the business owner‘s work.

Kurland pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Circuit Court to one count of theft scheme over $100,000 and fifteen counts of misappropriation by a fiduciary. As of Jan. 26, 2024, she did not have a law license.

She faces a maximum of 15 years in prison and a sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 28.