In a lucid and heartfelt affidavit, Couri's mother, Katby T. Couri, said her son Jim Couri is ruthless, without morals, a liar, who needs psychiatric help, who maintains his lifestyle by cheating others, and when people find out about him they are willing to lose money just to get away from him. [Click "Read More" immediately below. It is a must.]

I, KATBY T. COURI, being duly sworn, deposes and says:

Simultaneously with the execution of my Last Will and Testament, executed on January 29, 1987, in the offices of Kurzman, Midler & Corbin, in which I deliberately made no provision for my son, JAMES C. COURI, I am executing this Affidavit to support this decision and to express my reasons therefore. My attorneys have suggested that this Affidavit should be placed with the original of my Will and offered as a part thereof.

After a visit from James in early January 1987, I decided that I wanted to do everything in my power to make sure that my son, James, does not receive anything from my estate. I authorize my attorney, Robert G. Kurzman, Esq., of Kurzman, Midler & Corbin, to make this video tape public if James tries to attack my Will or challenge the validity of the Trust created by my late husband, ALEER J. COURI, on December 30, 1976.

James has been a disappointment to both myself and my husband from his childhood. When he was in the fifth grade the principal at Poly Prep in Brooklyn suggested that we obtain psychiatric help for him. We unfortunately did not take his advice. At an early stage in his life, he developed a tendency to cheat his friends and constantly tell lies. When he was in his teens, he would find ways to convince his elderly grandmother to give him money without our knowledge. My husband and I would constantly find money missing from our wallets and when confronted, he would always deny that he did it. As a child he stole from his brother's piggy bank and took his stamp album and sold it.

He kept getting into one problem after another. As parents we unfortunately ignored the real problem with him and protected him from one trouble to another. When working for Ernst & Co. he forged his father's name, sold over $30,000 in bonds and subsequently lost the money in the stock market. Again, we did nothing and protected him. The problem with his girlfriends and three wives are just too numerous to mention. He could never stay with a normal job and would always try one "get rich quick scheme" after another. He was always broke and constantly asking us for more money. While in his thirties, he began to gamble heavily and mix with the wrong crowd. We received many calls relating to his gambling and were often told how he cheated friends and relatives. He broke our hearts. All the lectures and fights did absolutely nothing. When we lived in New York City, James was being sued by a decorator that he cheated and came begging for $5,000. My husband would not give it to him but I did. He gave me a check and told me to fill in the date and deposit at a later date. Before depositing the check, my husband called the bank to see if the check was good, and learned that James had given us a check on an account that was closed. When we asked him for the money he said, 'Why don't you sue me.' We never got the money back.

When my husband started a duty free business at Kennedy Airport, he hoped that his two sons could work together. This was a big mistake as [his brother] was doing the work and James was causing problems. When money was missing from the Company safe, James was the only one who refused to take a lie detector test. My husband then decided that it was a big mistake having James work at the company. During a meeting with James in January 1987, he told me that he felt he was not treated fairly with the company. After thinking back as to what happened and asking [his brother] some questions, the facts are that James decided to sell part of his stock and give up the voting rights on the balance of his stock to my husband. My husband knew that James would never amount to anything and thought that this would be the best solution. Following this, James made our lives so miserable with his hounding and fights and with his need for money that my husband made arrangements to have James bought out completely. In order to make sure that James would never bother our son John, my husband, of sound mind set up a Trust and put his company stock into it. I must repeat that from this time on my husband and I did not want James to ever have any JDF stock. James told me that after I die he intends to challenge the Trust that my husband created and make all types of trouble for his brother John. I want to state that my husband knew what he was doing, did it of his own free will, and did not want James to be involved with the company. My husband was in complete control of his mind until the day that he died.

James was never a good son. Two weeks before my husband died, he told John to take care of me because he knew that James only cared for himself and would not do anything for me. James would only come around when he needed something. After my husband passed away James offered to pay for my husband's coffin. I was touched by this gesture only to find that he backed down from his commitment. In 1986, he was in need of money and behind on his [country] club bill, so he begged me for help. On two occassions, I paid $2,000.00 toward his club bill. Months later when I told him I needed money, all I would hear from him was that he did not have it even though he had money to vacation in California and Arizona and refurnish his apartment.

I am sorry to say my son James is a liar, cheat and ruthless person who only thinks about himself. He has no morals and has maintained a lifestyle by cheating others. When people that he gets involved with find out about him they are willing to lose money just to get away from him. My son is not normal and needs psychiatric help.

As a result of the way James has treated me throughout his life, I do not want him to receive anything from my estate.

Signed, Katby T. Couri

Notary Public Signature
Three Witness Signatures

EDITOR’S NOTE: Recently, I spoke to Katby T. Couri's lawyer, Robert G. Kurzman, Esq., who reported Mrs. Couri as having all her faculties when she signed her affidavit and Last Will and Testament before Mr. Kurzman, three witnesses, a notary public, and a video camera, (despite James Couri's claims to the contrary). Mrs. Couri's strength of mind is evident in her unflinching and damming description of her son.

Public records show Katby T. Couri passed away more than three (3) years after the signing the affidavit on March 5, 1990 at the age of 81. In an unsuccessful attempt to undermine the impact of Mrs. Couri's affidavit, Scamraiders.com attributes to Mr. Couri a statement that his mother was very sick and died three months after she signed the affidavit. Not true. The Scamraiders' post claims I stole the affidavit from James Couri's brother. Not true. The affidavit from a federal court case. Finally, the Scamraiders' post claims the affidavit is a forgery. Also, not true.  James Couri is not encumbered by the truth, ever.

Significantly, Mrs. Couri signed the affidavit when her son James was an adult --- just three months shy of his 48th birthday. Likely, by that time, Mr. Couri's moral character had reached its zenith or nadir, as the case may be. 

In 1981, more than six years before Katby T. Couri’s signed the affidavit, her son James pled guilty in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York, to two felonies involving stock fraud (share price manipulation) and fraudulent statements made to a bank in connection with an art gallery Couri controlled. Notably, Mrs. Couri did not refer to the felony pleas in her affidavit. Thus, it appears Mrs. Couri thought the felony pleas were not relevant to her decision to leave James no part of estate and to insure James would never receive any portion of her husband's trust. 

EDITOR'S NOTE:  At the conclusion of the court case in which Mrs. Couri's affidavit was filed, a request was made to seal the record which would necessarily include the affidavit. The court DENIED the request in the presence of James C. Couri and his attorney, Jon Paul Robbins, Esq.

A copy of the affidavit is available from the United States District Court, Southern District of New York, Case No. 88 Civ. 6985 (GLG) and/or Case No. 92 Civ. 2991 (CLB). Or simply CLICK HERE.