According to the United States Attorney’s Office, District of Maryland, a Montgomery County, Maryland attorney has been charged with a 22-count indictment. The charges include tax evasion, assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, failing to pay taxes, and making false statements to two separate mortgage lenders.
U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron, along with Deputy Assistant Attorney General David A. Hubbert from the Department of Justice Department, Tax Division, announced the indictment. The indictment states that Thomas C. Goldstein, a resident of Chevy Chase, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., was the exclusive owner of Goldstein & Russell, P.C., a boutique law firm that specializes in appellate litigation, including litigation before the United States Supreme Court. In addition to his legal career, Goldstein was known to be an avid poker player, often participating in high-stakes games with millions of dollars at stake.
During that time, Goldstein is accused of participating in a scheme to evade his taxes. According to allegations, Goldstein took several actions to carry out the scheme. This includes diverting legal fees that were supposed to go to the law firm into his personal bank account. He then used these funds to pay off his personal poker-related debts. Additionally, Goldstein is accused of using the law firm’s assets to settle his personal poker debts. To conceal these payments, they were falsely categorized as “legal-fee” expenses in the firm’s records. Furthermore, Goldstein allegedly utilized the law firm’s assets to cover salaries and health insurance premiums for individuals with whom he had a personal relationship. However, these individuals reportedly performed minimal or no work for the law firm and were ineligible for its health insurance.
Goldstein is accused of failing to report or inaccurately reporting millions of dollars in gambling winnings on his tax returns. Furthermore, it is alleged that he did not pay the taxes he claimed were owed on his returns for the years 2016 to 2021 (excluding 2018), despite spending large sums of money on personal expenses like gambling debts, travel, vacation rentals, and luxury items.
In 2021, Goldstein is accused of submitting false mortgage applications to two different mortgage lending companies. He was seeking financing to purchase a $2.6-million home in Washington, D.C. On these applications, Goldstein was required to disclose all his liabilities and debts. However, he allegedly omitted millions of dollars of liabilities, including over $14 million owed on two promissory notes and taxes owed to the IRS. It is claimed that Goldstein’s false statements to one of the mortgage lenders allowed him to secure a $1.98 million loan.
If he is found guilty, he could face up to five years in prison for each tax evasion charge, three years for each count of aiding in the creation of false tax returns, a maximum of one year for each of the five charges of willfully failing to pay taxes, and 30 years for each count of providing false information to mortgage lenders. In addition, he may be subject to supervised release, financial penalties, and the requirement to make restitution.
The case is currently under investigation by the IRS Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Kibbe, of the District of Maryland, along with Senior Litigation Counsel Stanley Okula and Trial Attorneys Emerson Gordon-Marvin and Hayter Whitman from the Tax Division.
