Supreme Court lawyer pleads not guilty in tax case tied to poker winnings

By David Thomas

Jan 27 (Reuters) - Prominent former U.S. Supreme Court attorney Tom Goldstein on Monday pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he failed to report millions of dollars he won in poker matches and used his former law firm's accounts to pay his gambling debts.

Goldstein was indicted in Maryland federal court earlier this month on 22 counts of tax evasion, preparing false and fraudulent tax returns, failing to pay his taxes and other charges.

Goldstein on Monday also agreed as a condition of his pretrial release not to engage in any form of gambling or poker, court documents show.

"Mr. Goldstein will vigorously defend against these charges, and we look forward to his exoneration," Goldstein's lawyers, John Lauro and Christopher Kise, said in a statement.

A spokesperson for the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Federal prosecutors accused Goldstein of borrowing millions of dollars to stake poker matches, underreporting his gambling winnings, and using funds from his law firm, then known as Goldstein & Russell, to pay off his debts.

Prosecutors also alleged that Goldstein had sham employment arrangements with at least four women with whom he was romantically involved, using firm funds to pay for their salaries and their health insurance even though they did no work for the firm.

Goldstein was part of the team that represented former Vice President Al Gore in Supreme Court litigation over the 2000 U.S. presidential election. He is the publisher of the SCOTUSblog news website, and has served as a top appellate attorney for "Fortnite" maker Epic Games in lawsuits against Apple and Google.

For his defense, Goldstein has tapped two lawyers who represented Republican President Donald Trump in high-profile cases.

Lauro, of Lauro & Singer, defended Trump against federal charges of attempting to overthrow the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

Kise, of Continental, defended Trump on 40 counts of illegally retaining sensitive national security documents after leaving office in 2021. Kise also represented Trump in the civil fraud case brought by New York's attorney general.

Goldstein said in March 2023 that he was retiring from his legal practice.