Former Tottenham Owner Joe Lewis Escapes Jail Sentence for Insider Trading as Billionaire Faces Punishment
Joe Lewis, the billionaire whose family owns a majority stake in Tottenham, narrowly avoided jail time 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 in January.
He was accused of passing confidential trading information to his private pilots and a girlfriend in what prosecutors called a ‘brazen insider trading scheme’. While most insider trading cases result in prison time, Lewis, who is estimated to have a personal fortune exceeding £5.8 billion, was spared jail at a New York hearing.
US District judge Jessica Clarke acknowledged the need to discourage similar crimes but cited Lewis’s age and physical health as reasons for leniency. Consequently, Lewis was sentenced to three years’ probation and a £3.96 million fine.
His attorney, David Zornow, successfully argued that a prison term would be ‘catastrophic’ for Lewis given his circumstances. Lewis had previously loaned $500,000 (£396,005) each to two of his private pilots to buy Mirati shares and passed confidential information about Australian Agricultural Company’s losses due to flooding.
Lewis expressed remorse for his actions in court, acknowledging his mistake and expressing shame and accountability. He was supported by his family and wore an eyepatch due to serious eye issues ahead of planned surgery in the UK.
Lewis held a majority stake in Tottenham for over two decades before the ownership was transferred to the Lewis Family Discretionary Trust in 2022. Despite these legal troubles, Spurs issued a brief response, stating that the case was a ‘legal matter unconnected with the club’.
Lewis’s status as a non-beneficiary of the trust meant he did not fall under the Premier League rule barring owners facing criminal investigations.
