How Tobey Maguire Became A Witness In A Criminal Tax Trial

Tobey Maguire is probably best known for his role as Peter Parker in a trio of Spider-Man films in the early-to-mid-2000s. Around the time "Spider-Man 2" was making lots of money at the box office, Maguire found another way to make lots of money: high-stakes poker.

He began playing competitively in 2004 and got involved with the exclusive, private games hosted by Molly Bloom, later portrayed in the book and movie "Molly's Game." His interest in poker continued to grow, though sometimes, Maguire's opponents couldn't always pay their debts.

That's how he found himself on the witness stand earlier this week, testifying in the criminal tax trial of attorney Tom Goldstein.

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Back in December 2019, Maguire was playing in a poker match against billionaire banker Andy Beal. Acting as a witness for the prosecution, Maguire alleges that he won a $15.6 million pot against Beal and was owed $7.8 million as his share of the money. However, Beal skipped out on paying. Beal also allegedly failed to pay several side bettors hundreds of thousands of dollars.

According to the indictment of Goldstein, Beal continued avoiding payment through 2021. The indictment notes "the Texas Businessman [Beal] proposed to the Actor [Maguire] and the side bettors a settlement of his poker debts that involved paying an amount significantly less than what was actually owed."

Maguire didn't want to accept a reduced payment, and that's where Goldstein comes in. Maguire hired the lawyer, saying he met him in "poker circles," to help collect the debt. Goldstein helped procure the money, and Maguire paid him $500,000 in legal fees. Maguire wired the payment to Bob Safai, a real estate mogul, to help Goldstein pay off other poker debts the lawyer owed.

If that sounds complicated to you, you're not alone. However, Maguire said these types of deals happen regularly, and the money often exchanges hands without anything on the record.

Goldstein's trial is expected to go on for another couple of weeks. He's on trial for tax evasion, falsifying tax returns, failing to pay taxes, and giving false statements to mortgage lenders.

Despite the foray into the courtroom, Maguire will continue playing in high-stakes poker matches. He just hopes people are better about paying up.