Tom Goldstein Seeks Release, Denies Control Over Crypto Wallets

SCOTUSblog co-founder Tom Goldstein requested on Tuesday that he be released from jail after the government accused him of violating his release conditions by transferring millions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency.

Goldstein, a veteran appellate attorney, was arrested Monday when the US District Court for the District of Maryland revoked his release order for probable cause that he violated its conditions and made false statements to pretrial service officers. According to the government, Goldstein used undisclosed wallets to receive and send millions in cryptocurrency over the past week, while also representing to the court that his home shouldn’t be held on bond because he needs its equity to fund his defense.

“The government has made a mistake,” an emergency motion filed by Goldstein’s attorneys said. “Its motion to revoke the release order of defendant Thomas Goldstein is premised entirely on the assertion that Mr. Goldstein owns two cryptocurrency wallets that have been used for large financial transactions in the last few days. That assertion is false.”

Text messages that the government says demonstrate Goldstein’s ownership over certain cryptocurrency wallets actually show the defendant requesting that funds be directed to a third-party wallet to satisfy a debt, the emergency motion said. That context was omitted from the government’s request for Goldstein’s arrest and he does not own the cryptocurrency wallets at issue, the motion said.

Goldstein was charged last month with tax evasion, aiding and assisting the preparation of false returns, willful failure to pay taxes, and making false statements on a loan application. Prosecutors say he concealed gambling-related income and disguised personal expenditures using his firm.

Goldstein pleaded not guilty, and in earlier statements, his lawyers said they expect that he will be exonerated at trial.

Jonathan I. Kravis and Stephany Reaves of Munger Tolles & Olson LLP signed the emergency motion as attorneys for Goldstein. The court on Tuesday allowed Goldstein to represent himself, and several other lawyers have entered limited appearances for Goldstein in the case.

The case is United States v. Goldstein, D. Md., No. 8:25-cv-00006, emergency motion filed 2/11/25.