Actor and poker enthusiast Tobey Maguire took the stand in the criminal tax trial of attorney Tom Goldstein, testifying that billionaire Andy Beal failed to pay a $15.6m poker loss from a Dallas high-stakes game in December 2019 in a timely manner.
According to Bloomberg Law, Maguire’s cut of the winnings was $7.8m, and he said that in 2021, Beal tried to pay him “significantly less” than the full amount. Maguire wouldn’t accept the lower sum and hired Goldstein to recover the money, paying him $500,000 in legal fees.
After successfully collecting the money, Maguire directly wired the $500,000 sum to Bob Safai, as Goldstein had his own poker debt with the real estate giant. Maguire said that these types of undocumented transfers are common in the world of high-stakes poker.
didn’t disclose millions worth of poker winnings
The Spider-Man actor was testifying on the trial’s eighth day. Goldstein entered a not guilty plea in October. He allegedly didn’t disclose millions worth of poker winnings, made improper payments through his law firm, and lied in mortgage documents.
As reported by Reuters, Goldstein claims he handed over responsibility for all financial and tax matters to his accountants and law office managers. In an interview with The New York Times Magazine in December, Goldstein revealed that he’s down between $10m and $15m during his time playing poker.
