Tom Goldstein Denies Ownership of Crypto Wallets Related to Arrest; Demands Release
Less than a month after being federally indicted for alleged tax evasion related to high-stakes poker matches, attorney Tom Goldstein was accused of "more of the same conduct" after investigators said they discovered previously undisclosed cryptocurrency wallets that sent and received millions in transactions this past week. But Goldstein, who was arrested Monday and is in federal custody, says the wallets aren't his.
Goldstein, who on Jan. 16 was charged in Maryland federal court in a 22-count indictment, was accused of receiving $8 million in cryptocurrency and sending $6 million just a day before telling the court that he was $3.3 million in debt.
"(Goldstein's) receipt of over $8 million in cryptocurrency and transfer of over $6 million of cryptocurrency through undisclosed, unhosted wallets over the last five days—while attempting to shed the bond placed on his D.C. residence by telling the Court he is destitute—presents an urgent risk of flight," prosecutors wrote in an arrest warrant unsealed on Monday. "Clear and convincing evidence shows that Defendant has violated his conditions of release based on his failure to disclose the cryptocurrency wallets and conducting the transfers without Pretrial Services approval."
Goldstein was arrested on Monday after Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Sullivan agreed that there was "clear and convincing evidence" that he violated pretrial release conditions and posed a flight risk.
In an emergency motion to revoke his order of detention filed on Tuesday, Goldstein, who last month pleaded not guilty to all charges, denied ownership of the two wallets, which he said were owned by third parties to who he had previously facilitated debt payments.
"The government has made a mistake," wrote Goldstein, who is now representing himself in the case but filed the motion with attorneys Jonathan I. Kravis and Stephany Reaves.
According to Law360, Goldstein denied ownership of the crypto wallets during a bail hearing Monday.
Tom Goldstein "Best Friends" w/ Dan Bilzerian
Tens of Millions in Alleged Crypto Transfers
The arrest warrant refers to two crypto wallets believed to be maintained by Goldstein. The first, ending in the digits "935B," had sent $73.6 million and received $75.6 million since November 2022, though it was empty at the time of the Jan. 16 indictment.
On Feb. 4, six days after Goldstein's initial court appearance and the day before a motion to change his bail terms, approximately $10 was sent from the "935B" wallet in what prosecutors said was likely a test transfer. The wallet received approximately $8 million a few hours later, $6 million of which was sent out of the wallet not long after.
Investigators linked the wallet to Goldstein through his communications with the CEO of a West Coast-based luxury travel and concierge service referred to as the "Fixer," who acted as a middleman for Goldstein and other wealthy clients.
In April 2023, Goldstein messaged the "Fixer" about securing $500,000 in cryptocurrency from another individual and instructed the "Fixer" on how to conduct the transaction. "I can definitely take $500k crypto," Goldstein wrote in a message exchange admitted as evidence. "But I have to structure it as a purchase. Like I’m going to have a record of buying it from him. Or from you. I need to do that bc I’m going to send it to [redacted] as his share of poker."
Goldstein further referenced poker later in the conversation.
Fixer: Appreciate this. Lmk how much you want to do this for me. I appreciate it.
Goldstein: It will depend on poker, ty
Fixer: Sounds Good! When you playing?
Fixer: Are you out in Coachella already?
Goldstein: Tonight Coachella. Lost this week. Back next week.
In the arrest warrant, prosecutors allege Goldstein started using the "935B" wallet in November 2022, two weeks before he emptied and stopped using his Coinbase account.
"This timing strongly suggests that (Goldstein) switched from his Coinbase account, which the Government could more easily discover his ownership of (and freeze), to his unhosted 935B wallet, which would be nearly impossible to find but for the fact that, as described above, (Goldstein) identified the wallet to others," wrote prosecutors.
The arrest warrant further references a second wallet, "54E3," that was first used when "Professional Gambler-1" (one of two professional poker players identified in the original indictment who coached Goldstein) transferred Goldstein $242,410 to pay for a poker loss.
Prosecutors say the wallet was dormant until Feb. 5, the day Goldstein filed a motion to reconsider his bail terms. It then received an incoming transfer of $1,306.32 before sending out $22,006.84 one minute later.
"(Goldstein) also concealed the existence of this wallet, Defendant’s assets of over $220,000
in the wallet, and the transfers of over $23,000 in the last four days from Pretrial Services and the Court," they wrote.
Prosecutors argued that the discovery of Goldstein's alleged undisclosed cryptocurrency wallets brings his "risk of flight to an entirely new level."
"Indeed, that (Goldstein) amassed and then quickly transferred millions of dollars in cryptocurrency to other wallets (possibly controlled by individuals abroad) in the past few days strongly suggests he is preparing to offshore his assets and flee," they wrote.
In previous court filings, prosecutors alleged that Goldstein had offered cryptocurrency and other things of value "to a potential witness in the case who has intimate knowledge of his and his law firm's finances and income — and that there was no other credible reason for doing so than to attempt to prevent the potential witness from assisting in the investigation."
Court Orders Tom Goldstein to Stop Playing Poker
Goldstein Says Wallets Aren't His
On Tuesday, Goldstein denied ownership of the two cryptocurrency wallets, which he said were owned by third parties. In court filings, attorneys for Goldstein submitted text exchanges that they said gave context to the messages detailed in the arrest warrants and demonstrated he didn't own the wallets in question.
"As the attached message threads from Mr. Goldstein’s cell phone show, those cryptocurrency wallets are owned by third parties, not by Mr. Goldstein, and there is no evidence that Mr. Goldstein engaged in the recent cryptocurrency transactions identified by the government," wrote attorneys Jonathan I. Kravis and Stephany Reaves. "The communications the government cites in its motion to tie the cryptocurrency wallets to Mr. Goldstein in fact show something very different—Mr. Goldstein making arrangements back in 2023 to satisfy a debt to the owner of the cryptocurrency wallet by asking another party to transfer money owed to Mr. Goldstein at that time directly to the owner’s wallet."
"The attached messages from Mr. Goldstein's phone clearly show that Mr. Goldstein does not own the cryptocurrency wallets that are the sole basis for the government's motion to revoke Mr. Goldstein's release order, and that there is therefore no basis to believe that Mr. Goldstein engaged in transactions with those wallets in recent days. Because the government refuses to correct its error, Mr. Goldstein respectfully requests his immediate release."
On Tuesday morning, Assistant United States Attorney Patrick D. Kibbe told Goldstein's attorneys that they were "looking into this further" and invited them "to supply any additional information related to Mr. Goldstein's use of, or connection with, the unhosted accounts, including the full identities of the persons involved in the transfers detailed in the two documents supplied, as well as more recent transfers."
Goldstein is currently being held in federal custody without bond. He was previously represented by John Lauro and Christopher Kise, who have represented President Donald Trump in high-profile cases.
Judge Sullivan ordered the government to respond to Goldstein's motion by Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. ET.
