Joe Lewis (left) with Tottenham Hotspur chairman and minority owner Daniel Levy in 2011. Forbes ranks Lewis the world's 444th richest person, with a net worth of US$6.2 billion. Photo / Getty Images
Joe Lewis (left) with Tottenham Hotspur chairman and minority owner Daniel Levy in 2011. Forbes ranks Lewis the world's 444th richest person, with a net worth of US$6.2 billion. Photo / Getty Images
Billionaire Joe Lewis, whose family hold majority control of Tottenham Hotspur, pleaded guilty to insider trading and securities fraud in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday.
Lewis, 86, arrived at court surrounded by doctors and attorneys, and supported by an aide.
After pleading guilty to the charges of securities fraud –which prosecutors called a “brazen” scheme in 2019 to enrich his friends, lovers and employees, including two private jet pilots – Lewis told Judge Jessica Clarke he knew he was “violating his public duty” when he committed the offences.
Joe Lewis, centre in a grey woolly hat, leaves Manhattan federal court on Wednesday. The British billionaire whose family trust owns the Tottenham Hotspur football club, pleaded guilty to insider trading charges alleging that he fed corporate secrets to romantic partners, personal assistants, friends and his pilots, earning them millions of dollars illegally. Photo / AP
The offences were committed at a time when Lewis was still in control of the majority ownership stake held by ENIC in Tottenham.
ENIC own 86.58 per cent of Spurs shares, 70.12 per cent of which are now controlled by the Lewis Family Trust, which includes family members of Lewis. The remaining 29.88 per cent of ENIC’s stake is owned by chairman Daniel Levy, while the remaining 12.42 per cent of club ownership is made up of smaller shareholders.
Lewis relinquished control of ENIC’s share on October 5, 2022.
The scheme enabled them to reap millions of dollars in profit, according to prosecutors.
“I knew what I was doing was wrong. I am so embarrassed, and I apologise to the court for my conduct,” Lewis told the court, eight months after he was arrested and ordered to remain in the US.
Lewis was shielded by an umbrella as he left court. Photo / AP
Judge Clarke said she would sentence Lewis on March 28 after she had reviewed an agreement by Lewis’ attorney David Zornow and the government, and agreed to a condition that Lewis would have the right to withdraw his guilty plea if he is given a custodial sentence.
Under federal sentencing guidelines, Lewis faces 45 years in prison and a US$5 million (NZ$1.18m) fine. While Lewis will not plead guilty to lesser counts against him under the terms of his deal, Clarke said she may consider them for sentencing purposes.
Separately, his Bahamas-based company Broadbay pleaded guilty to participating in the scheme and was hit with a US$15m fine and US$35m forfeiture.
Lewis, who appeared frail, was questioned whether he was of sound mind and health before Judge Clarke agreed to accept his guilty plea. To each question he answered: “Yes, your honour.” He was warned that his plea could affect his US immigration status, including deportation.
Outside the court, a spokesman for Lewis said the businessman had “acknowledged his conduct in connection with a number of stock trades by individuals close to him”.
But they noted that Lewis, who founded investment firm Tavistock Group and is worth nearly £5 billion, did not engage in improper trading in his own name – an offence that the prosecutors did not charge in the indictment.
They also pointed to a long list of accomplishments he’d made in his life and said he was “deeply sorry” for his conduct and apologised “to his family and all those who had come to rely on him during his career”.
Last year prosecutor Damian Williams, of the US attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, said Lewis had engaged in “classic corporate corruption. It’s cheating and it’s against the law.”
Lewis’ guilty plea does not affect the charges against his pilots, Patrick O’Connor and Bryan Waugh, who were also charged in the scheme. Like Lewis previously, the two men entered not guilty pleas last July.
Tottenham Hotspur has previously referred to the charges against Lewis as a “legal matter unconnected with the club”.
