Supreme Court Lawyer Tom Goldstein Charged with Hiding Millions in Poker Winnings from the Taxman 


A top U.S. Supreme Court attorney has this week been hit with federal charges of tax evasion relating to his high stakes poker play.

Tom Goldstein (pictured) has represented more than 40 cases in the highest U.S. court. Now, he faces being in a court dock as a defendant, after being charged with 22 different counts related to his 2016 to 2022 financial affairs.

Prosecutors allege Goldstein, who is now retired, didn’t declare tens of millions in high stakes poker winnings. They also accuse him of using his former law firm’s accounts to pay off personal poker debts, understating his debts on loan applications, and giving high paying jobs to women he was romantically involved with. 

The alleged poker winnings were mostly from nosebleed high stakes private games. That includes one 2016 session in Asia in which prosecutors say he won $13.8 million, and another in California in which he apparently walked away with $26.4 million. That would put Goldstein among the highest-earning cash game players in the world if it were all on the books.

Goldstein retired from practicing law in 2023. Shortly after he left, his former firm – Goldstein & Russell – was renamed Russell & Woofter.

The Indictment 

Goldstein has represented top U.S. clients in major court cases, such as Google owner Alphabet, Fortnite video game maker Epic Games, and former Vice President Al Gore. 

However, he now finds himself as a defendant facing 22 federal charges. They all relate to his financial and tax affairs between 2016 and 2022. 

The full list of charges from the indictment comprises ten counts of filing fraudulent tax returns, four counts of failure to pay taxes, five counts of tax evasion, and three counts of providing false statements on loan applications. 

“Goldstein also allegedly did not report, or falsely understated, millions of dollars of gambling winnings on his tax returns,” said a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office, District of Maryland. 

“In addition, for 2016 through 2021, except 2018, Goldstein allegedly did not pay the taxes he self-reported were due on his returns, while simultaneously spending millions of dollars on personal expenses such as gambling debts, travel, vacation rentals, and luxury goods.”

The indictment also accuses him of creating half-a-dozen jobs at his law firm for women he was romantically involved with. On several occasions, prosecutors say, this was done for the express purpose of obtaining health insurance for the women so they could pay for medical procedures. 

The Gambling

Since the indictment emerged on Thursday, journalists have delved into Goldstein’s appearances in documented poker tournaments over the past decade. 

The top lawyer allegedly took to the felt, behind a mask, in 2024’s Hustler Casino Live Million Dollar Game, giving his name only as Thomas. A 2008 Washington Post article about Goldstein’s poker exploits recalled him crashing out of that year’s World Series of Poker Main Event, only to later hit up a cash game at the Bellagio Las Vegas, where he turned $12,000 into $100,000 over 12 hours. 

In addition to playing in his own million dollar high stakes cash games, Goldstein reportedly represented several high net worth poker players in lawsuits against others over unpaid gambling debts. 

In one instance, prosecutors said Goldstein represented an unnamed California actor in a multimillion poker debt lawsuit against a Texas oil billionaire. Once the Texan paid up, Goldstein allegedly used $500,000 of his company’s fees to pay off his own unrelated poker debts. 

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