Tom Goldstein Arrested for Allegedly Violating Release Terms (1)

SCOTUSblog founder Tom Goldstein was arrested Monday after prosecutors said he presented an “urgent risk of flight,” according to court documents.

Goldstein received and transferred millions of dollars of cryptocurrency through undisclosed, unhosted wallets over the last five days—all “while attempting to shed the bond placed on his D.C. residence by telling the Court he is destitute,” prosecutors said in a motion for an arrest publicly filed on Monday.

The prosecutors have probable cause that Goldstein violated 18 U.S.C. 1001 because of his false statements to pretrial services officers, they said.

Goldstein was charged Jan. 16 in a 22-count indictment accusing him of tax crimes and making false statement to mortgage lenders. He was allegedly able to secure millions in loans from affluent contacts to fund, among other things, his high-stakes international poker habit.

He says he’s broke, but prosecutors say he has a bank account with a balance of $250,000, and that he’s been spending $5,000 a month on a housekeeper, $8,000 a month on a personal assistant, and $20,000 a month for an apartment in Dallas.

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.”

Goldstein has pleaded not guilty to the charges. In earlier statements, his lawyers have said they expect he will be exonerated at trial.

In his motion to modify his conditions of release, Goldstein said the record doesn’t show he’s a flight risk. Goldstein’s “a deeply respected member of the bar who practiced at the highest level for decades.” And he has known about the investigation for four-and-a-half years and didn’t attempt to flee.

“During that time, he traveled overseas extensively but always returned home,” his motion said.

The government earlier moved to strike Goldstein’s motion to modify his conditions of release because it was signed and apparently prepared by Goldstein—not his lawyers.

Although Goldstein was represented by counsel—John F. Lauro of Lauro & Singer and Lerch Early & Brewer Chtd. partner Stuart Berman—at his arraignment, his lawyers entered limited appearances.

Stanley J. Reed entered an appearance for Goldstein’s Monday afternoon bail hearing.

A hearing to address his representation going forward is scheduled for Feb. 12. A hearing on Goldstein’s conditions of release had been scheduled to follow.

The case is United States v. Goldstein, D. Md., No. 8:25-cr-00006, motion filed 2/7/25.