Joe Lewis, the billionaire owner of a majority stake in Tottenham, has been sentenced to three years’ probation and a substantial fine in the United States after pleading guilty to insider trading. The 87-year-old admitted to one charge of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and two counts of securities fraud.
He was accused of passing confidential trading information to his private pilots and a girlfriend as part of an insider trading scheme. Despite the majority of insider trading cases resulting in prison time, Lewis was spared jail at a New York hearing.
The US District judge acknowledged the need to discourage others from committing similar crimes but cited Lewis’s personal circumstances, including his age and physical health, as warranting leniency. Before the results were made public, Lewis loaned two of his private pilots $500,000 each to buy Mirati shares and also passed on sensitive information about losses in the Australian Agricultural Company.
His two pilots were also charged with trading on inside information. Lewis expressed remorse for his actions before the judge and was supported in court by his children and granddaughter.
He has since transferred the majority stake in Tottenham to the Lewis Family Discretionary Trust in 2022. The club responded to the charges by describing the case as a ‘legal matter unconnected with the club’.