The verdict
A federal jury in Greenbelt, Maryland, convicted Thomas Goldstein, a prominent Supreme Court litigator and SCOTUSblog co-founder, of tax evasion and related charges tied to income from high-stakes poker, according to the U.S. Department of Justice and prosecutors in the case. The jury found Goldstein guilty of 12 of 16 counts after a six-week trial, and deliberated for about two days before returning the verdict Wednesday.
Jurors convicted Goldstein of one count of tax evasion, four counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, four counts of willful failure to timely pay taxes, and three counts of false statements on loan applications, the AP reported. Prosecutors said the charges centered on whether Goldstein properly reported millions of dollars in gambling income.
Prosecutors alleged that Goldstein failed to pay taxes on that gambling income and also diverted money from his law firm to cover gambling debts. They also accused him of falsely deducting gambling debts as business expenses, arguing the tax problem was tied to a broader pattern of reporting and characterization decisions during the period covered by the case.
In closing arguments, Justice Department prosecutor Sean Beaty told the jury that Goldstein “lied to everyone around him,” describing him as having carried out what prosecutors called a willful tax scheme. Beaty said the tax evasion scheme depended on an undisclosed lifestyle as an ultra-high-stakes poker player and that it “fell apart” only after another gambler notified the IRS about a 2016 debt owed to Goldstein.
Beaty described Goldstein as having raked in approximately $50 million in poker winnings in 2016, including about $22 million from playing in Asia, according to the AP report. Beaty told the jury that the scheme was “a textbook tax-evasion scheme” and that Goldstein executed it “nearly flawlessly,” the report said.
Goldstein’s background and defense
Goldstein argued more than 40 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court before retiring in 2023, and he was part of the legal team that represented Democrat Al Gore in the Supreme Court litigation over the 2000 election ultimately won by Republican President George W. Bush, according to the AP. The indictment, brought a year ago, sent shockwaves through the legal community in Washington, D.C., the report said.
During the trial, Goldstein testified in his own defense and denied any wrongdoing. His defense attorney, Jonathan Kravis, argued in closing that the government rushed to judgment and did not adequately investigate. Kravis told jurors that Goldstein made “innocent mistakes” on his tax returns but did not cheat on his taxes or knowingly make false statements on his returns.
Kravis also argued to the jury that “A mistake is not a crime,” as described in the AP’s account of the closing arguments. He said Goldstein had repeatedly instructed his law firm’s staff and accountants to correctly characterize his personal expenses.
Accusations about loans and debts
Prosecutors also said Goldstein hid gambling debts from his accountants, employees, and mortgage lenders, including by omitting a $15 million gambling debt from mortgage loan applications when he sought a home in Washington, D.C., in 2021 with his wife, according to the AP report. Kravis disputed that characterization in closing, saying Goldstein was “thinking only of his wife when he left off the gambling debts.”
The AP report also said the trial included testimony by Tobey Maguire, described in the account as a “Spider-Man” star and avid poker player who enlisted Goldstein’s help in recovering a gambling debt from a billionaire. Goldstein argued that his instructions to his legal team and accountants reflected compliance, including a 2014 email in which he told a firm employee that “we always play completely by the rules,” according to the report.