Ex-Spurs proprietor Lewis ‘so embarrassed’ after pleading GUILTY to fraud

Joe Lewis, the British billionaire whose household belief owns a majority share in Premier League soccer membership Tottenham Hotspur, admitted he’s ‘so embarrassed’ after pleading responsible to passing inside info to his non-public pilots and girlfriend on Wednesday.

The 86-year-old, whose fortune is estimated to be price $7.6billion, confessed to 1 depend of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and two counts of securities fraud at a listening to in a Manhattan courtroom. 

He had confronted as much as 45 years in jail. 

Lewis initially denied 16 counts of securities fraud and three counts of conspiracy final July after he was accused of passing on tips on firms to mates, private assistants, non-public pilots and romantic companions. 

By ‘orchestrating’ the ‘brazen insider buying and selling scheme’, Lewis enabled them – in response to prosecutors – to make thousands and thousands of {dollars} in revenue. The alleged crimes happened between 2013 and 2021, when Lewis was Spurs’ proprietor.

British billionaire Joe Lewis pleaded responsible to a few counts of securities fraud on Wednesday

The former Tottenham proprietor arrives at court docket in Manhattan on Wednesday morning

‘I’m so embarrassed and I apologize to the court docket for my conduct,’ Lewis, the 316th-richest individual on the planet, mentioned. 

‘While I possessed materials private details about sure publicly traded firms, I agreed to make suggestions (to a few different individuals to buy inventory in these firms), Lewis advised Judge Jessica Clarke, per Bloomberg.

‘I knew on the time what I used to be doing was flawed and I’m so embarrassed.’

The pilots, Patrick O’Connor and Bryan Waugh, have been additionally charged and so they, too, entered not responsible pleas final July.

Lewis is because of be sentenced on March 28. Manhattan US Attorney Damian Williams known as his actions ‘traditional company corruption’.

As a part of his cope with US authorities, Lewis has the suitable to enchantment ought to he be sentenced to jail time, his lawyer David Zornow mentioned. 

‘I knew on the time what I used to be doing was flawed and I’m so embarrassed,’ the 86-year-old mentioned 

Tottenham described the fees towards Lewis as a ‘authorized matter unconnected with the membership’

Lewis surrendered to the FBI earlier than being launched on $300million bond, secured by his superyacht Aviva – which is price $250million – and private plane. 

He was ordered handy over his passport and advised he couldn’t depart the United States

The listening to final July noticed the billionaire charged with 16 counts of securities fraud and three counts of conspiracy. The prices every carry a most jail sentence of between 5 and 25 years.

O’Connor, from New York, and Waugh, from Virginia, every face seven counts of securities fraud and one depend of conspiracy.

Lewis’ Tavistock Group has investments throughout greater than 200 firms and 13 international locations, together with ENIC which purchased a controlling stake in Tottenham in 2001.

The 86-year-old is pictured alongside Spurs chairman Daniel Levy (proper) in north London 

But Spurs responded to the scandal surrounding Lewis with an announcement describing the fees as a ‘authorized matter unconnected with the membership.’

The possession of ENIC handed to the Lewis Family Discretionary Trust in October final 12 months and Lewis isn’t a beneficiary, that means he not comes below Premier League guidelines, which bar house owners who’re being investigated by a felony authority.

The household belief is managed by two unbiased skilled trustees — Katie Louise Booth, a Briton dwelling within the Bahamas, and Bryan Antoine Glinton, a Bahamian lawyer — on behalf of its beneficiaries and so they have been listed because the individuals of great management at Spurs since October.