{"id":144899,"date":"2026-02-26T17:41:59","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T01:41:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/02\/26\/tom-goldstein-goes-bust\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T17:41:59","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T01:41:59","slug":"tom-goldstein-goes-bust","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/02\/26\/tom-goldstein-goes-bust\/","title":{"rendered":"Tom Goldstein Goes Bust"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday, a federal jury in Maryland convicted the SCOTUSblog co-founder on 12 of 16 counts<\/a> after a six-week trial befitting the wild indictment we covered last January<\/a>. After celebrity testimony<\/a> and constitutional showdowns<\/a>, Goldstein\u2019s trial ends with convictions on one count of tax evasion, four counts of willful failure to timely pay taxes, four counts of aiding in the preparation of false tax returns, and three counts of making false statements on loan applications.<\/p>\n

Tom Goldstein argued over 40 cases before the Supreme Court and co-founded the go-to publication for live doomscrolling the decline and fall of the Constitution. In a profession that doesn\u2019t breed a lot of celebrities, Goldstein worked his way to legal royalty through pure gumption \u2014 literally, to the extent it included a stint with Akin Gump \u2014 establishing his Supreme Court advocacy street cred by covering the Supreme Court for the National Law Journal (under then-NLJ editor-in-chief current Above the Law<\/em> columnist Bob Ambrogi<\/a>) before ultimately establishing SCOTUSBlog.<\/p>\n

He was also, unfortunately, a high-stakes poker player. Raking in roughly $50 million in winnings in 2016 alone \u2014 including $22 million playing in Asia \u2014 Goldstein kept income hidden from his accountants, the IRS, and mortgage lenders. The indictment read like the unauthorized sequel to Rounders<\/em>, with Mikey finishing law school, but losing it all because he can\u2019t stop flying to Macao to play Teddy CCP. Underground poker games, duffel bags stuffed with nearly a million in cash at the border, firm money diverted to cover personal gambling debts, and a 24-page poker strategy memo which is the most lawyer-ass allegation in this whole story.<\/p>\n

Billionaire Alec Gores testified about losing $26.4 million to Goldstein in heads-up matches. Rick Salomon of Paris Hilton sex tape fame testified about the Asia-Pacific poker scene. And Tobey Maguire told jurors about hiring Goldstein to recover a $7 million poker debt from a Texas businessman. Even Spider-Man needs a lawyer sometimes.<\/p>\n

DOJ prosecutor Sean Beaty told the jury it was a \u201ctextbook tax-evasion scheme\u201d that Goldstein \u201cexecuted nearly flawlessly.\u201d Which seems like an overstatement given how it epically unraveled. The scheme apparently unraveled when a disgruntled fellow gambler ratted him out to the IRS over a 2016 debt. Et tu, California Businessman-1?<\/p>\n

Goldstein took the stand in his own defense, acknowledging that he should have paid more attention to his taxes and law firm finances, but insisted there was no criminal intent. His defense attorney Jonathan Kravis of Munger Tolles argued this was all about \u201cinnocent mistakes\u201d and accountants who committed a \u2014 to quote the defense \u2014 \u201ccatastrophic f***-up.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cA mistake is not a crime,\u201d Kravis told the jury.<\/p>\n

The jury, having heard six weeks of evidence about secret poker ledgers, luxury watches, Bentleys, hidden gambling debts, and diverted law firm funds, apparently disagreed.<\/p>\n

Goldstein also allegedly omitted $15 million in gambling debts from mortgage applications while house-hunting in D.C. with his wife. Kravis argued his client left the debts off \u201cbecause he wanted to keep them secret from his wife.\u201d The defense that \u201cyou can\u2019t spell mens rea<\/em> if men\u2026 are just lying to their wives\u201d did not prove persuasive to the jury. <\/p>\n

The whole saga also dragged in Jeffrey Toobin<\/a>, who co-authored a New York Times Magazine<\/em> profile of Goldstein in December because \u2014 in a move that probably took ten years off the lives of his defense attorneys \u2014 Goldstein sat for an on-the-record interview while facing trial. The government reached a deal<\/a> that spared Toobin having to testify.<\/p>\n

Goldstein faces a maximum of five years on the tax evasion count and up to 30 years on the false loan statement counts, but it\u2019s hard to imagine the value of a lengthy jail sentence for a nerdy appellate lawyer. Tax evasion is serious, but wasting taxpayer resources to keep Goldstein in prison doesn\u2019t seem like much of an answer. Just conscript him to take down Le Chiffre on behalf of the government and call it good.<\/p>\n

If the indictment came off as a wild and lawyerly edition of \u201cBehind the Music,\u201d we\u2019ve moved on from the \u201cBut Storm Clouds Were Gathering\u201d chapter and are squarely entering the \u201cWhere Are They Now?\u201d segment. And we\u2019ll find out soon.<\/p>\n

Earlier<\/strong>: SCOTUSblog Founder Indicted In Wild Poker-Fueled Tax Case<\/a>
Tom Goldstein Called Government\u2019s Bluff And Now Jeffrey Toobin Has To Litigate It<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"Headshot\"Joe Patrice<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. Feel free to\u00a0email<\/a> any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky<\/a> if you\u2019re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Tom Goldstein Goes Bust<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhotographer: Stephen Voss\/Bloomberg via Getty Images\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Yesterday, a federal jury in Maryland convicted the SCOTUSblog co-founder on 12 of 16 counts<\/a> after a six-week trial befitting the wild indictment we covered last January<\/a>. After celebrity testimony<\/a> and constitutional showdowns<\/a>, Goldstein\u2019s trial ends with convictions on one count of tax evasion, four counts of willful failure to timely pay taxes, four counts of aiding in the preparation of false tax returns, and three counts of making false statements on loan applications.<\/p>\n

Tom Goldstein argued over 40 cases before the Supreme Court and co-founded the go-to publication for live doomscrolling the decline and fall of the Constitution. In a profession that doesn\u2019t breed a lot of celebrities, Goldstein worked his way to legal royalty through pure gumption \u2014 literally, to the extent it included a stint with Akin Gump \u2014 establishing his Supreme Court advocacy street cred by covering the Supreme Court for the National Law Journal (under then-NLJ editor-in-chief current Above the Law<\/em> columnist Bob Ambrogi<\/a>) before ultimately establishing SCOTUSBlog.<\/p>\n

He was also, unfortunately, a high-stakes poker player. Raking in roughly $50 million in winnings in 2016 alone \u2014 including $22 million playing in Asia \u2014 Goldstein kept income hidden from his accountants, the IRS, and mortgage lenders. The indictment read like the unauthorized sequel to Rounders<\/em>, with Mikey finishing law school, but losing it all because he can\u2019t stop flying to Macao to play Teddy CCP. Underground poker games, duffel bags stuffed with nearly a million in cash at the border, firm money diverted to cover personal gambling debts, and a 24-page poker strategy memo which is the most lawyer-ass allegation in this whole story.<\/p>\n

Billionaire Alec Gores testified about losing $26.4 million to Goldstein in heads-up matches. Rick Salomon of Paris Hilton sex tape fame testified about the Asia-Pacific poker scene. And Tobey Maguire told jurors about hiring Goldstein to recover a $7 million poker debt from a Texas businessman. Even Spider-Man needs a lawyer sometimes.<\/p>\n

DOJ prosecutor Sean Beaty told the jury it was a \u201ctextbook tax-evasion scheme\u201d that Goldstein \u201cexecuted nearly flawlessly.\u201d Which seems like an overstatement given how it epically unraveled. The scheme apparently unraveled when a disgruntled fellow gambler ratted him out to the IRS over a 2016 debt. Et tu, California Businessman-1?<\/p>\n

Goldstein took the stand in his own defense, acknowledging that he should have paid more attention to his taxes and law firm finances, but insisted there was no criminal intent. His defense attorney Jonathan Kravis of Munger Tolles argued this was all about \u201cinnocent mistakes\u201d and accountants who committed a \u2014 to quote the defense \u2014 \u201ccatastrophic f***-up.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cA mistake is not a crime,\u201d Kravis told the jury.<\/p>\n

The jury, having heard six weeks of evidence about secret poker ledgers, luxury watches, Bentleys, hidden gambling debts, and diverted law firm funds, apparently disagreed.<\/p>\n

Goldstein also allegedly omitted $15 million in gambling debts from mortgage applications while house-hunting in D.C. with his wife. Kravis argued his client left the debts off \u201cbecause he wanted to keep them secret from his wife.\u201d The defense that \u201cyou can\u2019t spell mens rea<\/em> if men\u2026 are just lying to their wives\u201d did not prove persuasive to the jury. <\/p>\n

The whole saga also dragged in Jeffrey Toobin<\/a>, who co-authored a New York Times Magazine<\/em> profile of Goldstein in December because \u2014 in a move that probably took ten years off the lives of his defense attorneys \u2014 Goldstein sat for an on-the-record interview while facing trial. The government reached a deal<\/a> that spared Toobin having to testify.<\/p>\n

Goldstein faces a maximum of five years on the tax evasion count and up to 30 years on the false loan statement counts, but it\u2019s hard to imagine the value of a lengthy jail sentence for a nerdy appellate lawyer. Tax evasion is serious, but wasting taxpayer resources to keep Goldstein in prison doesn\u2019t seem like much of an answer. Just conscript him to take down Le Chiffre on behalf of the government and call it good.<\/p>\n

If the indictment came off as a wild and lawyerly edition of \u201cBehind the Music,\u201d we\u2019ve moved on from the \u201cBut Storm Clouds Were Gathering\u201d chapter and are squarely entering the \u201cWhere Are They Now?\u201d segment. And we\u2019ll find out soon.<\/p>\n

Earlier<\/strong>: SCOTUSblog Founder Indicted In Wild Poker-Fueled Tax Case<\/a>
Tom Goldstein Called Government\u2019s Bluff And Now Jeffrey Toobin Has To Litigate It<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"Headshot\"Joe Patrice<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. Feel free to\u00a0email<\/a> any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky<\/a> if you\u2019re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday, a federal jury in Maryland convicted the SCOTUSblog co-founder on 12 of 16 counts after a six-week trial befitting the wild indictment we covered last January. After celebrity testimony and constitutional showdowns, Goldstein\u2019s trial ends with convictions on one count of tax evasion, four counts of willful failure to timely pay taxes, four counts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-144899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144899"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144899\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}