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Joe Lewis, the billionaire founder of the company that owns the English soccer team, Tottenham Hotspur, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to charges of securities fraud in a federal court in Manhattan.
US Attorney Damian Williams accused Lewis of orchestrating a bold insider trading scheme in July. According to Bloomberg's report on January 24, the billionaire has now confessed to three counts of securities fraud during a hearing in the federal court in Manhattan.
Joe Lewis has formally pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and two charges of securities fraud and confessed:
"I am so embarrassed and I apologize to the court for my conduct."
According to Forbes, Joe Lewis, who boasts an impressive net worth of approximately $6.2 billion (£4.8bn), is not a regular attendee of Tottenham Hotspur matches but prefers to follow the games through Aviva. In addition to his connection with Spurs, Joe Lewis reportedly made a substantial investment in Rangers during the 1990s by acquiring a 25% stake in the Ibrox side for around £40 million.
Joe Lewis was removed from the Tottenham club in October 2022, and the responsibility for overseeing the club's operations was transferred to chairman Daniel Levy.
Who is Joe Lewis and why has he been accused guilty?
Born above a pub on Roman Road in Bow, Joe Lewis departed from formal education at the age of 15 to assist in managing his father's West End catering business, Tavistock Banqueting. The sale of this business in 1979 laid the groundwork for his initial wealth, paving the way for his entry into currency trading.
In 1992, Lewis reportedly joined forces with American billionaire George Soros to speculate on the impending devaluation of the pound within the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM).
The culmination of this collaboration, known as Black Wednesday, led to a significant decline in the value of sterling and compelled the British government to withdraw the pound from the ERM.
Controlling the Tavistock Group, which boasts over 200 assets spanning 13 countries, and serving as the owner of the UK pub operator Mitchells & Butlers, Joe Lewis commands a considerable business empire.
In 2001, Lewis acquired a controlling stake in the Premier League club Tottenham by purchasing it from Alan Sugar for £22 million. According to NDTV World, in July 2023, Mr. Joe Lewis faced arrest on charges of reportedly divulging insider information related to his portfolio companies to two private pilots, friends, personal assistants, and romantic partners.
Prosecutors contended that between 2013 and 2021, he misused his access to corporate boardrooms, providing confidential tips to his associates, resulting in substantial profits amounting to millions of dollars.
Joe Lewis has accepted his charges and lamented in court:
''I knew that I was violating a legal duty not to make those recommendations because the nonpublic information had been entrusted to me in confidence. I knew at the time what I was doing was wrong, and I am so embarrassed and I apologize to the court for my conduct."
As per ESPN, Joe Lewis apparently used to divide his time between the Bahamas, a luxurious estate in Florida, and a property in Argentina. He had been released on a $300 million bond, allegedly secured by his private yacht, the Aviva, and private aircraft.
The conditions of his bail prohibit Lewis from leaving the United States, boarding his yacht, or using his personal aircraft, except for attending court hearings. Lewis is confined to traveling between New York, Florida, and Georgia, where he possesses property.
His sentencing coincides with FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried's scheduled sentencing for charges related to reportedly embezzling billions of dollars from customers. According to Tavistock's website, Lewis' investment firm is reportedly involved in the luxury real estate development Albany in the Bahamas, where Bankman-Fried apparently resided and was arrested in 2022.
Prosecutors allege that Lewis obtained insider information about four companies in which his hedge fund invested and shared this information with friends and associates between 2019 and 2021.
The companies mentioned by prosecutors include Mirati and BCTG Acquisition Corp., a blank check company founded by his hedge fund, which merged with Tango Therapeutics in 2021.
As per ESPN, prosecutors also claim that Joe Lewis concealed the extent of his holdings in Mirati by investing through a trust and a shell company registered in the name of his granddaughter and an employee. Mark Herr, a spokesperson for Lewis, stated he did not engage in improper trading in his personal accounts.
Lewis faces a cumulative maximum sentence of 45 years in prison. Prosecutors plan to request a sentence ranging from 1.5 to 2 years, when Lewis is sentenced in March, as conveyed by Nicholas Biase, the chief spokesperson for the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.
More about Joe Lewis' assets
According to Forbes, Lewis is the proprietor of the Tavistock Group. Under the umbrella of Tavistock, Lewis possessed the Premier League soccer team Tottenham (till October 2022) and holds a share in the U.K. pub operator Mitchells & Butlers.
As per Forbes, his diverse portfolio includes investments in luxury club resorts, restaurants, hotels, and an Australian agriculture firm. In addition to his business ventures, Lewis has amassed an extensive art collection featuring pieces by renowned artists such as Picasso, Matisse, Freud, and Bacon.
