Stakes High as SCOTUS Lawyer Tom Goldstein Heads to Trial on Tax Charges
Posted on: January 13, 2026, 03:11h.
Last updated on: January 13, 2026, 03:11h.
- Goldstein accused of hiding poker winnings and evading $5.3M taxes.
- Indictment also alleges law-firm funds misuse and mortgage application lies.
- Defense says errors weren’t willful, blaming bookkeeping and late payments.
The trial of Tom Goldstein, the high-flying Washington lawyer accused of “willfully” dodging millions of dollars in taxes on high-stakes poker winnings, got underway in Maryland this week.
Goldstein was a highly respected specialist in US Supreme Court litigation while moonlighting as a high-stakes poker player.
From 2016 to 2021, he failed to pay more than $5.3 million in taxes, according to a 22-count indictment unsealed in January 2025. He is also accused of using funds from his Bethesda, Md. law firm, Goldstein & Russell, to pay his poker debts and of lying on mortgage applications. Goldstein denies all the charges.
‘Millions File Late’
That indictment has since been trimmed after a judge dismissed charges related to allegations of payments to women with whom Goldstein was having affairs. Goldstein said in an interview with The New York Times last month these allegations had “nothing to do with taxes… They just put in those charges to dirty me up, to make the jury dislike me.”
The 55-year-old, who has rejected plea deals, is expected to argue that there was nothing “willful” in his behavior and that any underreporting on his tax returns was down to unintentional bookkeeping mistakes, not criminal conduct.
“Millions of people file and then pay late, as I did,” he told the Times.
As a poker player, Goldstein flew under the radar as an “ultra-high-stakes … player, frequently playing in matches or series of matches in the United States and abroad involving stakes totaling millions, and even tens of millions, of dollars,” according to the indictment.
High-Stakes Poker Rampage
In 2016, he won $26.4 million in a series of heads-up matches against a businessman in Beverly Hills. His opponent was unnamed in the indictment, but last month was revealed by Goldstein to be Alec Gores, the billionaire founder of private equity firm the Gores Group.
In the same year, in the Philippines, he won $13.8 million against a gambler known as “Tango” and then $9.96 million against a man known as “The Chairman.” In all, he made around $50 million in gross winnings from those games but had sold 75% of his action.
When the opportunity arose to play against the US real-estate investor and private-equity executive Bob Safai, he decided to back himself and play entirely with his own money. He lost $14 million.
At the time of his indictment, he was engaged in a series of matches against a Southern businessman whom Goldstein has declined to name. By his own account, he was winning millions.
Jury selection for the trial began Monday. Opening statements are expected shortly after a jury is seated.
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