Editor
The jury is nearing a verdict in one of the most sensational poker-connected cases ever to go to trial.
Poker player and renowned Supreme Court attorney Tom Goldstein stands accused of tax evasion and falsifying tax returns over his gambling earnings and will almost certainly face jail time if convicted on the most serious charges.
The case was scheduled to conclude on Thursday, but Law360 is reporting the jury broke for the weekend without reaching a verdict. The decision is now expected to come down early next week.
Goldstein, who co-founded SCOTUSblog, shocked friends and family when it was revealed he was living a sordid double life, crisscrossing the globe while playing in some of the highest-stakes poker games imaginable. He secretly won and lost tens of millions of dollars playing poker while maintaining his life as one of the most high-profile attorneys in the US.
Prosecution on Goldstein: “He’s Not a Dummy”
Justice Department prosecutor Sean Beaty highlighted Goldstein’s intelligence and success as a lawyer as evidence that he purposely neglected or falsified tax documents.
During the trial’s closing arguments, Beaty put it bluntly:
He’s not a dummy. He’s a willful tax cheat.
For much of the trial, the defense has illustrated the case against Goldstein as a witch hunt. The defense argued that Goldstein taxes were an honest mistake. Goldstein himself has admitted he was living a double life, for which he has faced consequences, but he maintains he didn’t do anything illegal.
Goldstein allegedly raked in a whopping $50 million in poker earnings during a particularly hot 2016 (75% of which was owed to backers). The hot streak didn’t last, and in the years following, he racked up debts playing ultra-high stakes games.
The whole thing fell apart for Goldstein when a fellow gambler, who felt slighted by the attorney, alerted the IRS about potential gambling debts.
Spider-Man Actor Tobey Maguire Called for Testimony
The case against Goldstein certainly hasn’t been without fireworks.
Goldstein became enmeshed in the world of ultra-high-stakes poker and associated with poker pros and fixers, including Andrew Robl, Dan Bilzerian, and Paul Phua. Robl, who coached Goldstein for several of his high-stakes games, was called to testify in the trial.
It’s also clear that Goldstein’s status as a high-profile attorney offered tremendous value to the high-stakes community. The celebrated lawyer helped Bilzerian and Phua with legal issues on separate occasions.
Goldstein also went to bat for actor/poker player Tobey Maguire when the Spider-Man star needed help securing a multimillion-dollar poker debt from billionaire Andy Beal. Maguire was also called to the stand to testify, providing some Hollywood firepower for the case. It’s not the first time that Maguire has been called to the courtroom because of his penchant for playing cards.
The case is particularly compelling because Goldstein is renowned for his courtroom prowess, rather than being the defendant. He argued more than 40 cases in the Supreme Court and won significant decisions for mega-cap companies like Google before retiring in 2023.
Goldstein was indicted last year and initially charged with 22 counts, including tax evasion, lying on mortgage applications, and aiding the preparation of false returns. The defense succeeded in getting the counts down to 16 before the trial commenced, however.
The case is currently in the jury’s hands, with a verdict expected early next week. If convicted on all counts, Goldstein faces decades in prison.
