Ex-Tottenham owner Joe Lewis pleads guilty to insider trading charges

24 January 2024 , 15:36

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British billionaire Joe Lewis (Image: Corbis via Getty Images)

British billionaire Joe Lewis, whose family trust owns a majority stake in Tottenham, is set to plead guilty to charges of insider trading.

Lewis is accused of giving inside information about companies he was planning to invest in to his romantic partners, friends, private pilots and personal assistants and the 86-year-old has now agreed a plea deal with the U.S. attorney's office.

He was indicted last July, with the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, claiming Lewis had orchestrated a "brazen insider trading scheme" and "abused access to corporate boardrooms".

And Lewis has now plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and two counts of securities fraud. He told U.S. District Judge Jessica Clarke: "I am so embarrassed and I apologize to the court for my conduct."

Lewis was initially charged with 16 counts of securities fraud and three counts of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and will not plead guilty to the remaining counts as part of the terms of his plea deal. He is set to be sentenced on March 28.

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He is estimated to be worth around $6.1billion and initially pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him, before ultimately changing his plea. Patrick O'Connor and Bryan Waugh, two of Lewis' pilots and his co-defendants, are accused of making millions of dollars off the tips they received.

The pair also plead not guilty last year and are facing seven counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. When Lewis was first indicted, Tottenham said in a statement: "This is a legal matter unconnected with the club and as such we have no comment."

Lewis has agreed a plea deal with the U.S. attorney's office (Louis Lanzano/UPI/REX/Shutterstock)

Tottenham are owned by ENIC, which purchased a controlling interest in the club in 2001, but ENIC's ownership passed from Lewis to his Family Discretionary Trust in October of which he is not a beneficiary.

As a result, Lewis' plea deal should not have much of an effect on Spurs as he is no longer subject to Premier League rules which state that club owners will be disqualified if they are convicted of criminal offences such as fraud, corruption and violence.

Lewis is currently out on bail and is prevented from leaving America, with the billionaire only permitted to travel between Florida, New York and Georgia where he owns property.

Matthew Cooper