Thomas C. Goldstein, Chevy Chase, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., an attorney, was indicted today on a 22-count indictment,of tax evasion, assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, failing to pay taxes, and making false statements to two separate mortgage lenders.
According to the indictment, in 2021, Goldstein, the sole owner of Goldstein & Russell, P.C., a boutique law firm specializing in appellate litigation, including litigation before the United States Supreme Court. Goldstein allegedly submitted false mortgage applications to two separate mortgage lending companies, seeking financing to purchase a $2.6-million home in Washington, D.C. On those mortgage applications — which required Goldstein to list all his liabilities and debts — Goldstein allegedly omitted millions of dollars of liabilities, including more than $14 million he owed at the time on two promissory notes, as well as taxes he owed to the IRS. Goldstein’s false statements to one of the mortgage lenders allegedly enabled him to obtain a $1.98 million loan.
Also, between 2016 and 2023, Goldstein allegedly engaged in a scheme to evade his taxes. Goldstein allegedly took various steps to carry out his scheme, including diverting legal fees that were due to the law firm to his personal bank account, and then using them to pay personal poker-related debts; using the law firm’s assets to satisfy his personal poker debts and falsely classifying those payments as “legal-fee” expenses on the firm’s books and records; and using firm assets to pay salaries and health insurance premiums for people with whom Goldstein had a personal relationship but who performed little or no work for the law firm and did not qualify for its health insurance.
Goldstein also allegedly did not report, or falsely understated, millions of dollars of gambling winnings on his tax returns. In addition, for 2016 through 2021, except 2018, Goldstein allegedly did not pay the taxes he self-reported were due on his returns, while simultaneously spending millions of dollars on personal expenses such as gambling debts, travel, vacation rentals, and luxury goods.
If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for each of the tax evasion charges; three years for each count of assisting in the preparation of false tax returns; a maximum of one year on each of the five counts charging willful failure to pay taxes; and 30 years for each count of making false statements to mortgage lenders. He also faces a period of supervised release, monetary penalties, and restitution.
IRS Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are investigating the case.
U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron announced the indictment with Deputy Assistant Attorney General David A. Hubbert, Department of Justice Department, Tax Division.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Kibbe, of the District of Maryland, Senior Litigation Counsel Stanley Okula, and Trial Attorneys Emerson Gordon-Marvin and Hayter Whitman, of the Tax Division, are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
