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Former superstar attorney Tom Goldstein has been sentenced to six years in federal prison for tax crimes tied to his ultra-high-stakes poker career. US District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby handed down the sentence Friday, five months after a jury found Goldstein guilty on multiple counts.
According to Bloomberg Law, which broke the news of the sentencing, Goldstein must also pay $3.1 million in restitution and will be subject to five years of supervised release following his prison term.
In February, a jury in Greenbelt, Maryland convicted Goldstein, 56, on 12 of 16 charges. These included tax evasion, failing to pay taxes on time, submitting false statements to mortgage lenders, and assisting in the filing of false tax returns.
Goldstein, who founded SCOTUSblog and once argued regularly before the US Supreme Court, led a double life as a high-stakes poker player. Coached by pros Andrew Robl and Keith Gipson, he reportedly won $50 million in 2016 alone, including $77 million from billionaires Alec Gores and Andy Beal combined.
Prosecutors argued Goldstein deliberately concealed his poker winnings from accountants, while he maintained he always intended to pay what he owed. In June, Judge Griggsby rejected his request for a new trial, stating the evidence against him was strong and the jury had shown no signs of struggling to reach its verdict.
Prosecutors had pushed for an eight-year sentence, while Goldstein reportedly turned down a plea deal of about five years in December 2025. His attorneys have since filed a motion seeking his release pending an expedited appeal to the Fourth Circuit, or alternatively, a delay in his surrender date.
