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Getty ImagesBritish billionaire Joe Louis, whose family owns Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, has pleaded guilty to insider trading in a US court.
Lewis, 86, was accused of passing information about his companies to his private pilots, friends, personal assistants and romantic partners.
US authorities say the scam generated millions of dollars in profits.
Lewis pleaded guilty to conspiracy and two counts of securities fraud as part of a deal with prosecutors.
Lewis founded the investment firm Tavistock Group, which has ownership stakes in a wide range of property, sports, finance, energy and life sciences companies.
He is ranked 39th on the Sunday Times Rich List for 2023, with an estimated fortune of more than £5 billion ($6.4 billion).
He was arrested in July 2023 and charged with sixteen counts of securities fraud and three counts of conspiracy.
Prosecutors alleged that between 2013 and 2021, he abused his access to the company's board rooms and passed inside information to his contacts.
US Attorney Damian Williams said those communications generated millions of dollars from “sure thing” bets on the stock market.
In one case, according to the indictment, Lewis asked his girlfriend to invest in a biotechnology company in July 2019, before the results of a clinical trial conducted by the company were published.
He then allegedly logged into her bank account himself and used $700,000 to invest in the company, ultimately making a profit of $849,000.
In another case, Lewis allegedly wired $500,000 each to his private pilots Patrick O'Connor and Brian Wu to buy shares in a company, after giving them confidential information.
After the loan, Mr O'Connor allegedly texted a friend “the boss loaned Marty and me $500,000 each for this” and “the boss has inside information… why else would he make us invest”.
Mr. O'Connor and Mr. Wu were also charged with securities fraud.
The indictment listed other alleged incidents of Mr. Lewis asking boyfriends, girlfriends and employees to invest in stocks based on inside information.
Prosecutors also said that as part of the scheme, Lewis concealed the true size of his ownership stake in one company, Mirati Therapeutics.
As part of the plea deal, one of Lewis' companies, Broad Bay Ltd, also pleaded guilty to securities fraud and was fined $50m (£39m).
“Today’s guilty plea reaffirms – as I said when announcing the charges against Joseph Lewis just six months ago – that the law applies to everyone, no matter who you are or how much wealth you have,” Williams said in a statement.
In court in Manhattan on Wednesday, Lewis admitted that he knew what he was doing was wrong.
“I feel very embarrassed and apologize to the court for my behavior,” he said.
Lewis pleaded guilty to the charges, which carry a maximum penalty of 45 years in prison, although federal guidelines call for a sentence of 18 to 24 months. The plea agreement allows Lewis to appeal the decision if he is sentenced to prison.
Lewis was born in London's East End and ran a restaurant his father had started before selling it to focus on currency speculation and investments.
He was reportedly one of the investors who made money betting heavily against the pound sterling ahead of “Black Wednesday” – the UK’s withdrawal from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism in September 1992.
In 2007, he took a stake in Wall Street investment firm Bear Stearns, but reportedly lost more than $1 billion when the company failed during the financial crisis the following year.
Lewis was a long-time resident of the Bahamas, and his bail conditions prohibited him from leaving the United States and limited him to travel between his properties in New York, Florida and Georgia.
The Lewis family owns a majority stake in the holding company that runs Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. But according to financial documents the club filed with UK Companies House in 2022, Lewis no longer has “significant control” over the club.
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