A prominent attorney who once argued dozens of cases before the U.S. Supreme Court has been convicted on federal tax and fraud charges connected to millions of dollars in poker winnings. A jury in Maryland found Thomas Goldstein, co-founder of SCOTUSblog and a well-known Supreme Court litigator, guilty on 12 counts following a lengthy trial centered on allegations that he concealed gambling income and misrepresented financial information.

Jurors delivered the verdict in federal court in Greenbelt after deliberating for about two days. The trial lasted six weeks and examined claims that Goldstein failed to report significant gambling profits, redirected money from his law firm to cover debts from poker games, and submitted inaccurate information on financial documents.

Goldstein denied wrongdoing throughout the proceedings and testified in his own defense.

Jury Convicts Lawyer On Multiple Tax-Related Charges

The federal jury convicted Goldstein on a single count of tax evasion, four counts of aiding and assisting in preparing false tax returns, four counts for willfully failing to pay taxes on time, and three counts tied to false statements on loan applications. He had faced a total of 16 charges.

Prosecutors told the jury that Goldstein participated in extremely high-stakes poker games where tens of millions of dollars were in play. According to the government, he stopped paying taxes on substantial gambling income beginning in 2016.

During closing arguments, Justice Department prosecutor Sean Beaty said the attorney deliberately concealed his financial activity. “He lied to everyone around him,” Beaty said during the trial’s closing arguments, according to the Associated Press.

Prosecutors argued that Goldstein diverted payments from his law firm to cover poker losses and improperly deducted those debts as business expenses. They also said he spent millions of dollars on luxury personal purchases while avoiding tax obligations tied to his gambling profits.

Kelly Hayes, the U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland, said the conduct involved deception aimed at avoiding taxes. “Goldstein chose fraud and deceit over honesty and tried to cheat the American taxpayer while living a lavish lifestyle,” Hayes said, according to an official press release from the Department of Justice. “He gambled that he wouldn’t get caught, and that gamble did not pay off.”

Beaty also described the conduct as deliberate tax avoidance. “It was a textbook tax-evasion scheme,” Beaty said. “And Mr. Goldstein executed that nearly flawlessly.”

According to prosecutors, the alleged scheme unraveled after another gambler who believed Goldstein had treated him unfairly informed the Internal Revenue Service about a debt dating back to 2016.

Poker Winnings And Secret Gambling Lifestyle Examined

Evidence presented during the trial focused on the scale of Goldstein’s gambling activity. Prosecutors said he earned roughly $50 million in poker winnings during 2016 alone. That total included approximately $22 million from games played in Asia. The government argued that those profits should have been reported and taxed.

Goldstein was also accused of concealing his gambling debts from people in his professional and personal life. Prosecutors said he withheld financial information from accountants, employees, mortgage lenders, and IRS agents.

One example involved mortgage applications connected to a home purchase in Washington, D.C., in 2021. Prosecutors said Goldstein omitted millions of dollars in liabilities, including a $15 million gambling debt, while seeking financing for a $2.6 million home. Authorities said the false statements allowed him to obtain a loan of roughly $1.98 million.

The case drew attention partly because of Goldstein’s prominent position in the legal community. His indictment a year earlier surprised colleagues in Washington who were unaware of the extent of his gambling activities.

Goldstein had a long career arguing cases before the Supreme Court and retired from that practice in 2023 after appearing in more than 40 cases before the justices. Earlier in his career, he served on the legal team representing Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore during the Supreme Court dispute over the 2000 election, ultimately won by George W. Bush.

Defense Says Errors Were Unintentional

Goldstein’s defense team argued that the case stemmed from misunderstandings and mistakes rather than deliberate fraud. Defense attorney Jonathan Kravis told jurors that investigators reached conclusions too quickly and failed to fully examine the evidence surrounding his client’s finances.

Goldstein made “innocent mistakes” on his tax returns but did not knowingly provide false information or attempt to cheat the government, Kravis said. “A mistake is not a crime,” he said.

During the trial, Goldstein testified that he instructed employees at his law firm and outside accountants to properly categorize his personal expenses. A 2014 email introduced in court included a statement from Goldstein to a firm employee in which he wrote that “we always play completely by the rules.”

Kravis also argued that Goldstein omitted certain gambling debts from loan applications because of concerns about how they would affect his family. “He was thinking only of his wife when he left off the gambling debts,” Kravis said.

The trial featured testimony from several witnesses, including actor Tobey Maguire, known for playing Spider-Man in film adaptations. Maguire, who participates in poker games himself, testified that he had asked Goldstein for help recovering a gambling debt from a billionaire. Goldstein continues to deny wrongdoing despite the jury’s verdict.