Criminal Justice
SCOTUSblog founder Tom Goldstein had motive for money offers to firm manager, prosecutors allege
A superseding indictment in a tax fraud case against SCOTUSblog co-founder Tom Goldstein includes new allegations about attempts to influence his law firm manager and misuse of a firm trust account. (Photo by Alex Brandon/The Associated Press)
A superseding indictment in a tax fraud case against SCOTUSblog co-founder Tom Goldstein includes new allegations about attempts to influence his law firm manager and misuse of a firm trust account.
The Aug. 7 superseding indictment adds allegations and new details but no new counts against Goldstein, Reuters reports.
An Aug. 7 docket entry for the case, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, refers to a related case but provides no details.
Prosecutors have described Goldstein, a retired U.S. Supreme Court litigator, as an “ultrahigh-stakes poker player.” He was accused in a January indictment of hiding millions of dollars in income and cryptocurrency transactions on tax returns. He was also accused of using his boutique firm, Goldstein & Russell, to help cover his debts and of making false statements to mortgage lenders.
The superseding indictment claims that, from about October 2020 to January 2021, Goldstein “repeatedly” offered his firm manager things of value, including a $10,000 bonus, student loan payments and cryptocurrency, “at least in part to dissuade the firm manager from cooperating with the IRS’ ongoing criminal investigation.”
Goldstein allegedly feared that the manager would provide information about a woman who did not work for the firm who was nonetheless listed as a firm employee and covered by a firm health insurance policy.
The new indictment also alleges that Goldstein used his firm trust account to shield nearly $1 million belonging to him and his wife from the Internal Revenue Service.
The superseding indictment says Goldstein and his wife withdrew at least $960,000 from their retirement accounts in March 2021 to pay for a new home, and that Goldstein had the funds wired to Goldstein & Russell’s trust account to prevent an IRS levy before the purchase. Goldstein transferred the funds to a firm business account before the closing and then wired the money to the title company, the superseding indictment alleges.
The new indictment also accuses Goldstein of falsely telling IRS representatives that nearly $1.7 million in income reported on his 2016 tax form was accurate, and that his only poker investors were for his games with “California Businessman-2.”
Goldstein had previously sought to compel production of grand jury testimony from the law firm manager, arguing the government had wrongly characterized the offer of compensation as an attempt to bribe a witness. The government made the allegations while trying to keep in place conditions of Goldstein’s pretrial release.
Goldstein had suggested that there was another explanation for offering compensation to the manager: to retain the manager to assist the firm in gathering materials responsive to government subpoenas.
Goldstein previously pleaded not guilty and argued in May case filings that some charges were filed too late or based on erroneous legal theories.
Goldstein is represented by lawyers from Munger, Tolles & Olson, who did not immediately respond to an ABA Journal request for comment.
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