Tom Goldstein, the Supreme Court attorney and co-founder of SCOTUSblog, has been sentenced to six years in federal prison following his conviction on tax and mortgage fraud charges.
The charges stemmed from allegations that Goldstein participated in high-stakes poker games and failed to properly disclose his winnings and losses in financial documents.
Prosecutors alleged he omitted poker winnings from his tax filings and concealed poker losses in mortgage loan applications, forming the basis of the federal fraud case against him.
Goldstein’s six-year sentence falls short of the eight years prosecutors had sought, but exceeds what Goldstein himself said he was offered during plea negotiations.
US District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby handed down the sentence and also ordered Goldstein to pay $3.1 million in restitution as part of the judgment.
In addition to the prison term and financial penalties, Goldstein will be subject to five years of supervised release once he completes his sentence.
Judge Griggsby also revoked Goldstein’s bond at the time of sentencing and ordered him taken into custody immediately, agreeing with the government’s position that he poses a flight risk.
The decision to remand Goldstein directly into custody marked a significant moment for one of the most prominent figures in Supreme Court legal circles.
Goldstein co-founded SCOTUSblog, which became one of the most widely read and respected resources for tracking US Supreme Court cases and legal developments.
His conviction and sentencing represent a dramatic fall for a lawyer who built a career at the highest levels of the American legal system, regularly arguing cases before the Supreme Court.
The case drew widespread attention within the legal community given Goldstein’s high profile and his long-standing reputation as one of the country’s foremost Supreme Court practitioners.