A federal jury has found Thomas Goldstein, a renowned Washington attorney known for arguing Supreme Court cases, guilty on multiple tax and financial fraud charges connected to his secret career as a professional poker player.
The 12-member jury delivered their decision Wednesday following three days of deliberations in Greenbelt, Maryland, after a lengthy seven-week trial. Goldstein faced conviction on 12 out of 16 criminal charges, though jurors cleared him of several counts related to helping prepare fraudulent tax documents.
Federal prosecutors had accused the prominent lawyer of concealing millions of dollars earned through poker gambling, providing false information on mortgage applications, and making unauthorized payments through his former legal practice, Goldstein & Russell. His sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.
Before retiring from legal practice in 2023, Goldstein had established himself as one of the nation’s premier appellate lawyers, presenting more than 40 cases before the Supreme Court and helping create the legal news platform SCOTUSblog. His criminal charges shocked Washington’s legal establishment.
The trial exposed Goldstein’s extensive participation in international high-stakes poker competitions. Government lawyers revealed that he earned more than $26 million during a single tournament series in late 2016, money they claim he illegally hid from tax authorities and financial institutions.
The case centered on whether Goldstein deliberately broke federal tax and mortgage regulations. He maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings, attributing any financial reporting mistakes to excessive dependence on his professional advisors and accounting staff.
Taking the witness stand in his own defense, Goldstein acknowledged he should have been more vigilant about his tax filings and law firm’s financial matters, but denied any criminal intent. “The mistakes, responsibility for those tax years is mine. I may end up continuing to pay for this for a long time,” he told the jury. “That’s my responsibility. It’s just very different from whether I committed a crime.”
Prosecutors painted a different picture, describing Goldstein as a detail-oriented attorney who fully understood his legal obligation to report gambling earnings and losses. Lead prosecutor Sean Beaty challenged Goldstein’s testimony, characterizing him as dishonest and accusing him of hiding the extent of his poker activities from his spouse and others.
Beaty highlighted Goldstein’s extravagant purchases of luxury timepieces, vehicles, and real estate for the jury. “Poker. Travel. Cars. Watches. All while you owed millions of dollars to the IRS,” the prosecutor stated.
Goldstein admitted to having second thoughts about his spending choices but maintained that purchasing property while owing back taxes wasn’t against the law.
The trial featured testimony from several notable witnesses, including Hollywood actor Tobey Maguire, famous for his role in 2002’s “Spider-Man” and other major films. Maguire, who faces no criminal allegations, explained how he retained Goldstein’s legal services in 2020 to collect more than $7 million that a Texas businessman allegedly owed him from poker games.
Goldstein successfully helped Maguire recover the debt. The actor testified that Goldstein instructed him to send his $500,000 legal fee to a third party instead of paying him directly.
The original criminal charges included allegations about payments to women involved in extramarital affairs with Goldstein, but the presiding judge dismissed those particular accusations before trial.
