Tom Goldstein Delivered Pretrial Loss Over $968K in Alleged Poker Winnings at Airport

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Oct 15, 2025 2 min read

Indicted attorney Tom Goldstein suffered a pretrial loss as a federal judge denied his motion to suppress statements he made about a duffel bag of cash he brought into the United States in October 2018.

Prosecutors allege that Goldstein, who faces tax fraud charges in a case involving high-stakes poker matches around the world, flew from Hong Kong to Washington, D.C. with a duffel bag containing $968,000, which he declared as poker winnings to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials before later claiming it as a loan to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Earlier this year, Goldstein filed a pretrial motion to suppress his statements to TSA officials, arguing his Fifth Amendment rights had been violated since he was not read his Miranda rights. On Oct. 7, U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby denied his motion "because the evidence shows that the Defendant was not in custody during his October 25, 2018, customs screening process."

Pretrial Loss for Goldstein

Judge Griggsby's order, which PokerNews reviewed, means prosecutors can move forward with using the money dispute at trial.

Griggsby also denied Goldstein's motion to dismiss several counts against him, which he argued were barred by the statute of limitations.

"It is well-established that the statute of limitations is an affirmative defense that must be raised by the Defendant at trial," the federal judge wrote in the opinion filed on Tuesday.

The pretrial loss for Goldstein comes two months after a Grand Jury for the District of Maryland returned a superseding indictment with new details about the case. Goldstein did not face any new charges.

Among the allegations in the updated indictment were that Goldstein "attempt(ed) to dissuade" a firm manager "from cooperating with the IRS" by offering her a $10,000 bonus, student loan repayments in cryptocurrency. Goldstein is also challenging this claim with a motion to dismiss the allegations, court documents show.

During an arraignment hearing on Oct. 7, Goldstein pleaded not guilty to all charges in the superseding indictment. He had initially pleaded not guilty after the original indictment.

Goldstein is alleged to have withheld reporting millions of dollars of poker winnings on his tax returns. Investigators claim he won upwards of $50 million in high-stakes private games. His trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 13, 2026 in the United States District Court Maryland Southern Division.

Connor Richards is a Senior Editor U.S. for PokerNews and host of the Life Outside Poker podcast. Connor has been nominated for three Global Poker Awards for his writing.

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