Tom Goldstein is out of jail following a hearing where he convinced a judge that there is reasonable doubt he did not make the alleged crypto transactions.
The poker playing lawyer strongly denied that he owned any of the crypto accounts that were used to send and receive millions of dollars during last week.
During the latest hearing, he convinced Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Sullivan that there was sufficient doubt over the allegations made by prosecutors.
On Monday February 10, Sullivan said there was “clear and convincing evidence” that Goldstein violated his bail conditions and revoked his bail.
On Thursday February 13, Sullivan said:
“Given the information that Mr. Goldstein has now presented … the Court is no longer convinced, by clear and convincing evidence, that Mr. Goldstein violated his conditions of release.
“If he owns the wallet, how is he doing crypto transfers from a jail cell?”
While we don’t know the details of the prosecution’s evidence, its reliability was heavily undermined when a transfer of $2 million moved from one of the crypto wallets in question was witnessed by prosecutors while Goldstein was in custody.
Sullivan did, however, make it clear that Goldstein is far from proving the Government’s allegations that he violated his conditions of release.
“The Court finds it quite possible that Mr. Goldstein is the owner of the 935B and 54E3 wallets and that he transferred the funds just as the Government alleges … If the preponderance of the evidence standard applied … Mr. Goldstein would remain detained.
“There is ample evidence that Mr. Goldstein has been and remains a sophisticated and frequent user of cryptocurrency for years. He has used cryptocurrency—or directed others to use it on his behalf—to pay for everything from gambling losses to luxury watches for multiple women.”
Goldstein’s conditions of release have now been revised, reiterating that he must disclose any and all financial accounts, including crypto wallets.
Sullivan added that given Goldstein’s past use of cryptocurrency, it is likely that he has back-up funds which could be used to flee from prosecution.
To that end, the judge said Goldstein must “Refrain from the use of computer systems, Internet-capable devices and/or similar electronic devices at any location … without the prior written approval of the U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services Office monitoring of compliance with this condition.”
Tom Goldstein Fails to Switch Bail Collateral
After being released from the court on bail, Tom Goldstein filed again to switch his bail collateral from his family home so he can use that to fund his defence.
Jonathan I. Kravis and Adeel Mohammadi wrote:
“Goldstein intends to use the equity in the house to fund his defense in this case. The government has employed multiple tools to make it impossible for him to do so.”
Prosecutors pushed back on the claim that Goldstein has a negative net worth of $3.3 million, pointing out that he still pays a housekeeper $5,000 per month as well as a personal assistant charging $8,000 per month and rent on a Dallas apartment coming in at $20,000.
Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby denied the request, but Goldstein can refile at a later date.
