Trident CEO Sentenced to Three Years Over Lottery.com Fraud
Clara Williams 
Vadim Komissarov, the former chief executive of Trident Acquisitions Corp, has been sentenced to three years in prison for securities fraud following a scheme that misled investors ahead of the company’s merger with Lottery.com. The sentence was announced by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, with US Attorney Jay Clayton confirming that Komissarov was sentenced by Alvin K. Hellerstein after pleading guilty to one count of securities fraud in February 2026.
Key Takeaways:
- Komissarov sentenced to three years for securities fraud.
- Scheme involved false revenue claims at AutoLotto and Lottery.com.
- Executive must forfeit $607,028.70 from Lottery.com share sales.
Fraudulent Revenue Claims at AutoLotto and Lottery.com
Komissarov orchestrated a scheme between November 2020 and May 2022 to create the false appearance of revenue-generating business activity. This deceptive activity began at AutoLotto before its merger with Trident and continued at Lottery.com, a recognized platform for online lottery games, after the transaction was completed in 2021.
The government alleged that the fraud relied on a series of sham transactions designed to mislead Trident shareholders ahead of the merger vote. These false revenue figures were subsequently used to deceive investors in the combined Lottery.com business.
Among the deceptive activities was a fraudulent $9 million round-trip transaction that Komissarov allegedly arranged while using the alias "Vlad." In April and May 2022, Komissarov sold 300,000 Lottery.com shares for more than $600,000, shortly before Lottery.com informed investors it had identified errors in its reported revenue and available cash.
SEC Investigation and Obstruction Attempts
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched an investigation into Trident in June 2023, followed by an inquiry into Lottery.com in August 2023. During this period, authorities accused Komissarov of attempting to obstruct the SEC investigation.
Court filings indicate that he sought to coordinate a false narrative with Lottery.com executives to conceal his involvement in the sham transactions. He later provided false and misleading sworn testimony to the regulator regarding his communications and his role in the $9 million transaction.
The US Attorney’s Office revealed a conversation highlighting this concealment effort, in which Komissarov warned executives about the consequences of exposing his role. "So, if you come out and say that I was involved, then I am in deep sh*t," Komissarov stated.
Sentencing Details from the US Attorney’s Office
In addition to the three-year custodial sentence, Komissarov was ordered to serve three years of supervised release. He must also forfeit the $607,028.70 in proceeds generated from the sale of Lottery.com shares before the fraud became public knowledge.
US Attorney Jay Clayton emphasized the commitment of law enforcement to pursue corporate deception. "Vadim Komissarov, the former CEO of Trident Acquisitions Corp, is going to prison for defrauding his shareholders," Clayton commented.
Clayton further noted that the office will continue working with law enforcement partners to hold executives of public companies accountable when they commit fraud and lie about it.
