A pretrial release condition violation resulted in Tom Goldstein’s detention. Prosecutors contend that he utilized undisclosed accounts to transfer $6 million in cryptocurrency over the course of five days.
Summary
Tom Goldstein, the co-founder of SCOTUSblog and a former Supreme Court counsel, was reportedly detained in connection with a tax evasion case due to crypto transfers. In the case associated with his high-stakes poker playing, a Maryland judge determined that he had violated the pretrial release conditions. Prosecutors allege that the lawyer utilized undisclosed accounts to transfer over $6 million in cryptocurrency over five days.
The Chief US Magistrate Judge Timothy Sullivan emphasized that Goldstein was an untrustworthy individual and posed a flight risk. At an earlier time, the judge had permitted the former attorney to terminate his defence and represent himself. According to a report, the co-founder of SCOTUSblog had a net worth that exceeded negative $3.3 million.
Former Supreme Court Attorney in Trouble
A report indicates that Goldstein is currently in federal custody after allegedly offering “things of value” to a potential witness. The offerings consisted of millions of dollars in crypto assets. The co-founder of SCOTUSblog, who has argued in over 40 Supreme Court cases, is now representing himself in court after terminating his legal representation. His alleged offence is the failure to pay taxes over $5.3 million.
Last month, the attorney was indicted on 22 counts of tax evasion. He allegedly used law firm funds to cover debts and underreported his gambling income. Prosecutors also assert that he offered cryptocurrency to a potential witness to discourage them from cooperating. Nevertheless, on January 27, he entered a plea of not guilty and was granted a pretrial release.
The prosecutors emphasized that the ex-apex court lawyer’s receipt and transfer of millions of dollars to other accounts suggest that he may be preparing to relocate these assets offshore and flee. In the interim, he is required to disclose all of his financial accounts in court.
Court Filings Serve as a Source of Speculation
Goldstein, the individual in question, reportedly denied that he owned or controlled those accounts. Subsequently, the Chief US Magistrate declared that there was insufficient distinct and compelling evidence to support the lawyer’s violation of the conditions.
The report also stated that the accused failed to disclose one of the purses following his indictment in January. Allegedly, he was employing his savings to transfer a sum exceeding $73.6 million. Additionally, since November 2022, he has acquired approximately $75 million in crypto assets.
Filings indicate that Goldstein’s wallet contained assets at the time of his indictment in January. It received approximately $10 in USDT on February 4. This occurred six days following his court appearance. Nevertheless, the device received $8 million in USDT just an hour later. It gets more dubious that $6 million USDT was sent out of the wallet in two transactions within the next two hours.
Tether is the biggest stablecoin and the fourth largest crypto in the market. It has a market capitalization of nearly $142 billion. On Tuesday, its 24-hour trading volume was approximately $76 billion.
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