Key takeaways:
- Joe Lewis, British billionaire and owner of the Tottenham Hotspur soccer team, has been indicted in the U.S. on charges of insider trading.
- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a civil complaint against Lewis, alleging that he had made more than $50 million in illegal profits from insider trading.
- If convicted, Lewis could face up to 20 years in prison.
A British billionaire and owner of the Tottenham Hotspur soccer team, Joe Lewis, has been indicted in the U.S. on charges of insider trading. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams announced the charges Tuesday, alleging that Lewis had schemed for years to abuse his access to corporate boardrooms and provided inside information to his romantic partners, personal assistants, private pilots, and friends.
“As we allege, he used insider information as a way to compensate his employees and shower gifts on his friends and lovers,” Williams said in a Twitter video.
The Southern District of New York indictment alleges that Lewis orchestrated a “brazen insider trading scheme” by exploiting his access to various corporations to gain confidential stock tips, which he then passed on to people in his own inner circle.
David M. Zornow, an attorney for Lewis, said in a statement that his client “has done nothing wrong and looks forward to being vindicated in court.”
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also filed a civil complaint against Lewis, alleging that he had made more than $50 million in illegal profits from insider trading. The SEC is seeking to recover the profits, plus interest and penalties.
Lewis, 86, has denied any wrongdoing and is expected to appear in court in the coming weeks. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.
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