Shock Report: Indicted Scotus Blogger Won $50 Million in Heads-Up Poker Matches
A high stakes poker player was indicted Thursday. That's big news. But it turns out this individual just happens to be a big time attorney and Supreme Court (SCOTUS) blogger.
Tom Greenstein took part in poker games across the globe where he is accused of concealing winnings and losses while misrepresenting expenses, according to the 22-count indictment.
Greenstein is accused of concocting a multimillion-dollar scheme to evade federal income taxes and use money from his law firm to cover gambling debts.
Greenstein served as a blogger for SCOTUSblog and argued 44 cases in front the high court. He retired from appellate advocacy in 2023. He has taught Supreme Court advocacy at Harvard’s and Stanford’s law schools.
Prosecutors said Goldstein, 54, also submitted false applications to two lenders when seeking a mortgage for a $2.6 million house in Washington, omitting from one more than $14 million he owed at the time. He also had his firm pay salaries and health insurance premiums for women with whom he had personal relationships, but who did little or no work for the firm, according to the indictment.
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The allegations in the indictment span seven years, from 2016 to 2022, a period in which Goldstein was regularly appearing in front of the nation’s highest court.
Interestingly enough, Greenstein's name does not readily appear in the Hendon Mob database, at least not from what we could find.
PokerNews reports that Goldstein played in "ultra-high-stakes" heads-up poker matches from Beverly Hills to Asia, where he beat out three players for a combined $50 million in winnings before ultimately ending up down over $14 million.
He flew from Hong Kong to Washington, D.C. with a duffel bag of $968,000 in cash and also assisted a Hollywood actor recover $7.8 million in poker winnings from a Texas billionaire who refused to pay out.
Goldstein faces a maximum of five years in prison for each of the tax evasion charges, three years for each count of tax falsification, one year for each count of willful failure to pay taxes, and 30 years for both counts of making false statements to mortgage lenders. He also faces monetary penalties and restitution.
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