Goldstein Released After Casting Doubt on Crypto Transfers (2)

Tom Goldstein is going to be released from custody following his Monday arrest for alleged bond violations.

Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Sullivan said the detention order had been based solely on the government’s proffer.

Goldstein presented evidence to the court that casts doubt on the government’s claim that he engaged in prohibited transfers using cryptocurrency accounts.

Goldstein denied owning the accounts, and Sullivan said his claim was “plausible” and “supported by evidence,” casting sufficient doubt on the government’s allegations that he violated bond.

“To be perfectly clear, I’m not convinced that Mr. Goldstein’s version of events is completely accurate,” Sullivan said. “There are ambiguities that haven’t been clarified and some important details are missing.”

Sullivan amended Goldstein’s conditions of release to reduce his concerns about Goldstein’s access to cryptocurrency.

Among other things, Goldstein’s computer access will be restricted and monitored. He will also have to provide monthly financial records to pretrial services.

Sullivan said he was confident that Goldstein—after spending a little time in detention—wouldn’t be back in front of him for any bond violations.

The government had also claimed to have probable cause that Goldstein violated 18 U.S.C. §1001 by failing to disclose certain cryptocurrency accounts. But Sullivan was incredulous, saying he’d never seen someone indicted for a false statement to pretrial services. It happens all the time, he said.

Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Kibbe said they’d cited some cases involving that very scenario.

But Sullivan said that if the prosecutors were serious, he would have expected them to file a criminal complaint. After Kibbe said they hadn’t filed any related charge “at this time,” Sullivan said that told him what he needed to know about the merits of the allegation.

“As anticipated, the government failed to meet its burden of proof, and we appreciate the fact that the Court has now released” Goldstein, a spokesperson for him told Bloomberg Law.

Goldstein is represented by Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP.

The case is United State v. Goldstein, D. Md., No. 8:25-cr-00006, 2/13/25.