Poker, fraud and Spider-Man: Prominent lawyer gets 6 years in prison
July 24 (UPI) — A prominent Supreme Court litigator in Maryland has been sentenced to six years in federal prison for tax evasion and mortgage fraud, prosecutors said Friday.
Thomas Goldstein, who argued some 40 cases in front of the nation’s highest court, was found guilty of eight felonies in a February trial.
Prosecutors say Goldstein, an avid poker player, funneled millions from his law firm to cover gambling debts — and lied to IRS agents to hide them.
“His motivation was singular: pure, unrelenting greed,” prosecutors wrote in court documents. “Whether funneling gambling income through offshore bank accounts, shaving millions off his true law firm income, or lying to his lenders, Goldstein’s crimes always sought to advance and maintain his exorbitant lifestyle, replete with Bentleys, globe-trotting vacations, and a $200,000 watch.”
Goldstein also submitted fraudulent mortgage applications to two lenders, omitting “millions of dollars of liabilities, including more than $14 million he owed for poker-related debts, as well as taxes he owed the IRS,” officials said.
He was approved for a $1.98 million mortgage.
Goldstein, 56, cofounded the widely-popular SCOTUSblog, which follows the Supreme Court.
His trial featured an appearance by Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire, who testified Goldstein assisted him in recovering a gambling debt from a billionaire.
Goldstein was ordered to serve six years in prison, five years probation and pay more than $3.1 million in restitution.
“Thomas Goldstein built a distinguished legal career arguing that the rule of law matters,” said Kelly O. Hayes, the U.S. attorney in Maryland, in a statement. “Yet, as the evidence at trial showed, he repeatedly chose to violate that very principle for his own financial benefit.”