Last
month,
SCOTUSblog
co-founder
and
veteran
Supreme
Court
litigator
Tom
Goldstein
was
arrested
on
a
22-count
indictment
alleging
tax
crimes
and
making
false
statement
to
lenders.
According
to
the
government,
Goldstein
participated
in
high-stakes
poker
games
and
failed
to
disclose
his
winnings
(in
tax
filings)
and
losings
(in
loan
applications).
Goldstein
secured
his
release
with
his
marital
home,
but
is
seeking
to
modify
the
conditions
of
his
release.
In
a
filing
(notably
filed
pro
se,
despite
retaining
John
F.
Lauro
of
Lauro
&
Singer
and
Stuart
Berman
of
Lerch
Early
&
Brewer
Chtd.
for
his
arraignment),
Goldstein
is
seeking
to
put
up
another
property
fas
collateral
or
his
release,
claiming
he
needs
the
assets
in
his
residence
to
fund
his
defense.
The
government
opposes
the
motion
—
they
say
despite
Goldstein’s
claim
to
have a
negative
net
worth
in
the
neighborhood
of
$3.3
million,
he
poses
a
“significant”
flight
risk.
Prosecutors
also
countered
claims
about
Goldstein’s
financial
condition,
pointing
out
he
has
a
bank
account
with
$250,000,
and
large
monthly
outlays
including
$5,000
a
month
for
a
housekeeper,
$8,000
on
a
personal
assistant,
and
an
apartment
in
Dallas
he’s
spending
$20,000
monthly
on.
As
reported
by
Bloomberg
Law,
government
attorneys
also
say
Goldstein
did
some
interfering
with
their
investigation:
They
also
say
Goldstein
poses
“a
potential
danger
to
the
administration
of
justice,”
claiming
he
has
instructed
potential
witnesses
to
destroy
evidence
and
suggesting
he
has
attempted
to
pay
off
would-be
witnesses.After
learning
of
the
federal
investigation,
Goldstein
“offered
things
of
value,
including
cryptocurrency,
to
a
potential
witness
in
the
case
who
has
intimate
knowledge
of
his
and
his
law
firm’s
finances
and
income,”
they
allege.
There
“was
no
other
credible
reason
for
doing
so
than
to
attempt
to
prevent
the
potential
witness
from
assisting
in
the
investigation.”
But
Goldstein
counters
the
government’s
accusations
he’s
a
“very
real
risk” with
the
fact
he’s
“a
deeply
respected
member
of
the
bar
who
practiced
at
the
highest
level
for
decades.”
He
also
says
he’s
known
about
the
government
investigation
for
years,
has
traveled
extensively
worldwide
during
that
time,
but
“always
returned
home.”
A
hearing
on
Goldstein’s
collateral,
and
the
matter
of
his
representation,
will
be
held
later
this
week.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].