The British billionaire owner of Tottenham Hotspur, Joe Lewis, has been indicted for allegedly orchestrating a bold insider trading scheme, as stated by the US attorney in Manhattan.
In a video posted on the messaging platform X (previously known as Twitter), Damian Williams announced, “Today, I am making it public that my office, the southern district of New York, has charged Joe Lewis, the British billionaire, with orchestrating a brazen insider trading scheme.
“We allege that over the course of several years, Joe Lewis misused access to corporate boardrooms, consistently sharing confidential information with his romantic partners, personal assistants, pilots, and friends.
“These individuals then acted upon this privileged information and made substantial profits in the stock market. Thanks to Lewis, their bets were virtually guaranteed. None of these actions were necessary.
While Joe Lewis is already a wealthy man, we allege that he used insider information to reward his employees or shower gifts upon his friends and lovers.
“This behaviour represents classic corporate corruption. It’s cheating and a violation of the law.”
David Zornow, Mr. Lewis’ lawyer, strongly disputed the charges, stating that the government had “made a serious error in judgment in charging Mr. Lewis, an 86-year-old man known for his impeccable integrity and remarkable accomplishments.”
Zornow added that Lewis had willingly come to the US to address the “ill-conceived” charges, which they plan to vigorously defend in court.
A spokesperson for Tottenham club responded by saying, “This is a legal matter unrelated to the club, and therefore, we have no comment to make on it.”
Lewis is the owner of the Tavistock Group, which has more than 200 assets spread across 13 countries. His holdings include Tottenham Hotspur and the UK pub operator Mitchells & Butlers. Forbes has estimated his wealth at £4.65 billion.
He acquired a controlling stake in the Premier League club from Alan Sugar for £22 million in 2001.
Currently residing in the Bahamas, Lewis’s journey started from humble beginnings in London’s East End. He was born above a pub in Roman Road, Bow, and left school at the age of 15 to assist in running his father’s West End catering business, Tavistock Banqueting. He sold the business in 1979, laying the foundation for his initial fortune before entering the currency trading business.
In 1992, Lewis reportedly collaborated with American billionaire George Soros to bet against the pound, which led to the infamous “Black Wednesday,” causing a significant decline in the pound’s value and forcing the British government to withdraw from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (EERM).