Thomas Goldstein, a prominent Supreme Court litigator and co-founder of SCOTUSblog, has been sentenced to six years in prison for evading a multimillion-dollar IRS tax debt and engaging in mortgage fraud. The sentence was handed down on Friday by U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby.
Goldstein, 56, of Chevy Chase, Maryland, was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release after his prison term and to pay over $3.1 million in restitution. Prosecutors had recommended a sentence of just over eight years, stating that Goldstein concealed more than $25 million in income between 2016 and 2023, resulting in over $9.5 million in unpaid taxes.
In February, a jury found Goldstein guilty of 12 of 16 counts after a six-week trial. The convictions included tax evasion, aiding in the preparation of false tax returns, willfully failing to pay taxes, and mortgage fraud. The trial featured testimony from actor Tobey Maguire, who had enlisted Goldstein's help in recovering a gambling debt.
Prosecutors alleged that Goldstein's crimes were motivated by “pure, uninhibited greed” and a disregard for the tax system. They detailed an extravagant lifestyle that included Bentleys, globe-trotting vacations, and a $200,000 watch, funded by his illicit activities. Goldstein reportedly diverted money from his law firm to cover gambling debts and falsely deducted these debts as business expenses. He was also accused of misleading IRS agents and hiding his gambling activities from accountants, employees, and mortgage lenders, including omitting a $15 million gambling debt from mortgage applications when seeking a new home in 2021.
Goldstein, who previously argued over 40 cases before the Supreme Court and was part of Al Gore's legal team in the 2000 election litigation, retired from practice in 2023 at age 52. Many colleagues and friends were reportedly unaware of the extent of his gambling until his indictment in January 2025, which caused considerable surprise within Washington D.C.'s legal community.
Attorneys for Goldstein had argued for a sentence that would allow him to repay his debts and address a severe gambling addiction, asserting that his actions, while self-destructive, were not criminal. They stated that Goldstein had spent years gambling with money he did not possess and losing money he had won, to the detriment of himself and his family. Goldstein testified during his trial, maintaining that he had instructed his firm's staff and accountants to characterize his personal expenses correctly and that the firm always operated within legal boundaries.