Joe Lewis, the British billionaire and owner of the Tottenham Hotspur football club, has been accused of insider trading by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. According to the office, Lewis engaged in an audacious insider trading scheme from 2013 to 2021, sharing confidential trading tips with his romantic partners, personal assistants, private pilots, and friends, enabling them to make substantial profits.
US Attorney Damian Williams stated in a social media video that Lewis used insider information to reward his employees or lavish gifts on his friends and lovers. The indictment, obtained by Bloomberg, provides an example where Lewis allegedly loaned $500,000 to his pilots so they could trade a biotech company’s stock ahead of a public announcement about a clinical trial’s results.
Furthermore, Lewis reportedly pressured his personal assistants and romantic partners to act swiftly on the information he provided. Apart from being the majority owner of the Premier League football team Tottenham Hotspur, he is also the founder of Tavistock Group, a private equity company with investments in over 200 companies across 13 countries.
In response to the charges, David M. Zornow, Lewis’s counsel, defended him vehemently, stating that the government’s decision to charge the 86-year-old billionaire was a grave mistake, as he is a man of great integrity and achievements. Zornow asserted that Lewis willingly came to the US to address the allegations and will vigorously defend himself in court.
Regarding the matter, a spokesperson for Tottenham Hotspur asserted that it is a legal issue unrelated to the football club and, therefore, refrained from commenting. The Tavistock Group did not provide any response to the request for comment.
