SCOTUSblog’s Goldstein Accused of Tax Fraud Tied to Gambling (2)

Prominent attorney Tom Goldstein, co-founder of the website SCOTUSblog, was indicted Thursday on charges of fraud involving tens of millions of dollars in poker debt and creating phony jobs at his law firm to pay for travel and other expenses for several women.

Goldstein, as the sole owner of the firm Goldstein & Russell PC, allegedly used the firm’s money to cover personal expenses—including millions in gambling debts—and misrepresented the nature of the expenditures, according to the indictment filed in the US District Court for the District of Maryland.

Prosecutors say he also failed to report or mischaracterized millions of dollars in gambling income to the IRS. He is also accused of using sham employment arrangements to conceal payments made to or on behalf of “at least a dozen women” with whom he was, or hoped to become, romantically involved.

Attorneys representing Goldstein said Thursday that he intends to “vigorously contest” the charges.

“Mr. Goldstein is a prominent attorney with an impeccable reputation,” said John Lauro of Lauro & Singer and Christopher Kise of Continental PLLC. “We are deeply disappointed that the government brought these charges in a rush to judgment without understanding all of the important facts.

Goldstein is a long-time appellate lawyer who argued 45 US Supreme Court cases before announcing his retirement in 2023. SCOTUSblog, which he co-founded in 2002, has emerged as a go-to source for information about Supreme Court cases and high court practice.

Prosecutors say Goldstein was an ultrahigh-stakes poker player, who allegedly helped fund his gambling habit by borrowing substantial sums of money from other players, according to the indictment.

Goldstein has been open about his interest in “high-roller poker,” once telling the Washington Post that he grew interested in the game after watching the World Series of Poker on television.

The indictment details Goldstein’s alleged interactions with a variety of other, unnamed high-stakes poker players, including a California real estate magnate, a Hollywood actor, and several ultra-wealthy international players.

Prosecutors say that in 2018 Goldstein collected roughly a million dollars in poker winnings while in Macau and declared to customs officials at Washington Dulles International Airport that the cash was tied to gambling winnings, but he never reported that money as income to the IRS.

The indictment charges Goldstein with four counts of tax evasion, ten counts of assisting the preparation of false tax returns, five counts of willful failure to pay taxes, and three counts of false statements on a loan application.

The alleged false statements relate to mortgage applications Goldstein and his wife submitted to two separate lenders seeking financing for a $2.65 million home in Washington. Prosecutors say he failed to disclose at least $14 million in liabilities—not including taxes he still owed to the IRS.

The case has been assigned to Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby.

The case is United States v. Goldstein, D. Md., No. 8:25-cr-00006, indictment filed 1/16/25.