Joe Lewis, whose family trust owns the English football club, Tottenham Hotspur, has admitted being guilty of insider trading in a US court.
Lewis was indicted for sharing information regarding his companies with his close associates, friends, personal assistants, and romantic partners.
Authorities in the United States Of America indicated that the illegal activity resulted in millions of dollars in profit for the UK billionaire.
Joe Lewis pleaded guilty to conspiracy and two counts of securities fraud as part of a deal with prosecutors.
The 86-year-old founded the investment firm Tavistock Group, which has ownership stakes in several industries, including; sports, finance, property, energy, and life sciences companies.
Lewis was ranked 39th in the 2023 Sunday Times Rich List, with a net worth of above £5 billion.
The British billionaire was apprehended in July 2023 and subsequently charged with sixteen counts of securities fraud and three counts of conspiracy.
Prosecutors had implied that between 2013 and 2021, the 86-year-old abused his access to corporate board rooms and shared discrete information with his contacts.
US attorney Damian Williams said those individuals Lewis gave this information made millions of dollars in “sure thing” bets on the stock market.
Some of the instances based on the indictment when Joe Lewis’ information turned to gold for a contact was in July 2019, when he told a girlfriend to invest in a biotech firm before the results of a clinical trial by the company were shared publicly.
Lewis allegedly then used his girlfriend's account and invested $700,000 into the company, in which he made a staggering profit of $849,000.
Another instance also shared includes one where Joe Lewis apparently wired his private pilots Patrick O'Connor and Bryan Waugh $500,000 each to purchase stock in a company.
The British billionaire made this move after tipping them off with discrete and confidential information.
The indictment shared other alleged instances of Mr Lewis informing friends, girlfriends, and employees to invest in stocks as a result of insider information.
Prosecutors also said that in the scheme, Lewis hid the exact size of his ownership stake in a firm, Mirati Therapeutics.
Amongst the plea deal, one of the companies owned by Lewis, Broad Bay Ltd, also pleaded guilty to securities fraud and was hammered with a fine of $50m (£39m).
Lewis pleaded guilty to charges which carry a maximum sentence of 45 years in prison, although federal stipulations request a sentence of between 18 and 24 months.
The plea agreement affords Lewis to appeal the move if he is sentenced to serve some time behind bars.
The Spurs owner was born in London's East End and took charge of a restaurant business started by his father before he sold the company to focus primarily on currency speculation and investments.
Reports indicate that Joe Lewis was one of the investors who made money staking hugely against the pound before “Black Wednesday”.
“Black Wednesday” signifies the day when the United Kingdom withdrew from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism in September 1992.
The British billionaire took a stake in Wall Street investment firm Bear Stearns in 2007 but based on reports gathered, he lost more than $1 billion when the firm failed during the financial crisis in 2008.
Lewis resides in the Bahamas, and his bail terms prohibited him from exiting the United States of America.
This has apparently restricted him from traveling between his properties in New York, Florida, and Georgia.
Joe Lewis' family trust owns a significant stake in the holding company that operates Tottenham Hotspur football club.
However, based on financial documents that the club filed with the United Kingdom's Companies House in 2022, the 86-year-old no longer has overwhelming control over the North London-based club.
Lewis was indicted for sharing information regarding his companies with his close associates, friends, personal assistants, and romantic partners.
Authorities in the United States Of America indicated that the illegal activity resulted in millions of dollars in profit for the UK billionaire.
Joe Lewis pleaded guilty to conspiracy and two counts of securities fraud as part of a deal with prosecutors.
The 86-year-old founded the investment firm Tavistock Group, which has ownership stakes in several industries, including; sports, finance, property, energy, and life sciences companies.
Lewis was ranked 39th in the 2023 Sunday Times Rich List, with a net worth of above £5 billion.
The British billionaire was apprehended in July 2023 and subsequently charged with sixteen counts of securities fraud and three counts of conspiracy.
Prosecutors had implied that between 2013 and 2021, the 86-year-old abused his access to corporate board rooms and shared discrete information with his contacts.
US attorney Damian Williams said those individuals Lewis gave this information made millions of dollars in “sure thing” bets on the stock market.
Some of the instances based on the indictment when Joe Lewis’ information turned to gold for a contact was in July 2019, when he told a girlfriend to invest in a biotech firm before the results of a clinical trial by the company were shared publicly.
Lewis allegedly then used his girlfriend's account and invested $700,000 into the company, in which he made a staggering profit of $849,000.
Another instance also shared includes one where Joe Lewis apparently wired his private pilots Patrick O'Connor and Bryan Waugh $500,000 each to purchase stock in a company.
The British billionaire made this move after tipping them off with discrete and confidential information.
The indictment shared other alleged instances of Mr Lewis informing friends, girlfriends, and employees to invest in stocks as a result of insider information.
Prosecutors also said that in the scheme, Lewis hid the exact size of his ownership stake in a firm, Mirati Therapeutics.
Amongst the plea deal, one of the companies owned by Lewis, Broad Bay Ltd, also pleaded guilty to securities fraud and was hammered with a fine of $50m (£39m).
Lewis pleaded guilty to charges which carry a maximum sentence of 45 years in prison, although federal stipulations request a sentence of between 18 and 24 months.
The plea agreement affords Lewis to appeal the move if he is sentenced to serve some time behind bars.
The Spurs owner was born in London's East End and took charge of a restaurant business started by his father before he sold the company to focus primarily on currency speculation and investments.
Reports indicate that Joe Lewis was one of the investors who made money staking hugely against the pound before “Black Wednesday”.
“Black Wednesday” signifies the day when the United Kingdom withdrew from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism in September 1992.
The British billionaire took a stake in Wall Street investment firm Bear Stearns in 2007 but based on reports gathered, he lost more than $1 billion when the firm failed during the financial crisis in 2008.
Lewis resides in the Bahamas, and his bail terms prohibited him from exiting the United States of America.
This has apparently restricted him from traveling between his properties in New York, Florida, and Georgia.
Joe Lewis' family trust owns a significant stake in the holding company that operates Tottenham Hotspur football club.
However, based on financial documents that the club filed with the United Kingdom's Companies House in 2022, the 86-year-old no longer has overwhelming control over the North London-based club.