Joe Lewis, the British billionaire whose family trust owns a majority share in Premier League soccer club Tottenham Hotspur, has pleaded guilty to passing inside information to his private pilots and girlfriend on Wednesday.
The 86-year-old was slated to re-appear in a New York courtroom this month over his alleged role in a ‘brazen’ insider trading scheme.
Lewis, whose fortune is estimated to be worth $6.1billion, initially denied 19 counts of insider trading and conspiracy in a Manhattan courtroom back in July. But on Wednesday he pleaded guilty to three counts of securities fraud.
Lewis surrendered to the FBI before being released on $300million bond, secured by his superyacht Aviva – which is worth $250million – and personal aircraft.
He was ordered to hand over his passport and told he could not leave the United States.
British billionaire Joe Lewis pleaded guilty to three counts of securities fraud on Wednesday
Tottenham described the charges against Lewis as a ‘legal matter unconnected with the club’
Lewis faced accusations of ‘orchestrating a brazen insider trading scheme’ by passing on tips about companies to friends, personal assistants, private pilots and romantic partners.
The alleged crimes are said to have taken place between 2013 and 2021, when Lewis was Spurs’ owner.
Lewis appeared in federal court on July 26, along with two of his pilots and co-defendants – Patrick O’Connor and Bryan Waugh. They are suspected of making millions of dollars in illegal profit from Lewis’ tips. They, too, pleaded not guilty.
The hearing saw the billionaire charged with 16 counts of securities fraud and three counts of conspiracy. The charges each carry a maximum prison sentence of between five and 25 years.
The 86-year-old is pictured alongside Spurs chairman Daniel Levy (right) in north London
O’Connor, from New York, and Waugh, from Virginia, each face seven counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy.
Lewis’ Tavistock Group has investments across more than 200 companies and 13 countries, including ENIC which bought a controlling stake in Tottenham in 2001.
But Spurs responded to the scandal surrounding Lewis with a statement describing the charges as a ‘legal matter unconnected with the club.’
The ownership of ENIC passed to the Lewis Family Discretionary Trust in October last year and Lewis is not a beneficiary, meaning he no longer comes under Premier League rules, which bar owners who are being investigated by a criminal authority.
The family trust is managed by two independent professional trustees — Katie Louise Booth, a Briton living in the Bahamas, and Bryan Antoine Glinton, a Bahamian lawyer — on behalf of its beneficiaries and they have been listed as the persons of significant control at Spurs since October.
Read More: World News | Entertainment News | Celeb News
Mail Online
