British billionaire Joe Lewis sits with his lawyer David Zorno, charged with orchestrating what prosecutors called a “brazen” insider trading scheme, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Valerie Figueredo in Manhattan federal court in New York City, July 26, 2023 in a courtroom sketch.
Jane Rosenberg | Reuters
British billionaire Joe Lewis pleaded guilty to U.S. insider trading charges on Wednesday, and apologized to a judge for his conduct.
Lewis, 86, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and two counts of securities fraud, as part of an agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan. As part of the plea deal, Lewis has the right to appeal in the event he is sentenced to prison time, his lawyer David Zornow said.
Lewis, whose family trust controls a majority of the Tottenham Hotspur soccer team, was charged in July 2023 with passing inside information on his portfolio companies to two of his private pilots as well as friends, personal assistants and romantic partners, enabling them, according to prosecutors, to reap millions of dollars of profit.
Addressing U.S. District Judge Jessica Clarke, Lewis said he knew at the time that what he was doing was wrong.
“I am so embarrassed and I apologize to the court for my conduct,” Lewis said.
The pilots, Patrick O’Connor and Bryan Waugh, were also charged. All three men entered not guilty pleas last July.
Lewis was charged by federal prosecutors with 16 counts of securities fraud and three counts of conspiracy, for alleged crimes spanning from 2013 to 2021.
While Lewis will not plead guilty to the other counts under the terms of his deal, Clarke said she may consider them for sentencing purposes.
Clarke set his sentencing for March 28.
Lewis founded the investment firm Tavistock Group and is worth $6.2 billion, according to Forbes. Lewis has been allowed to remain free on a $300 million bond secured by his yacht, named the Aviva, and private aircraft.
The terms of his bail restrict Lewis from traveling outside the United States, boarding his yacht or traveling in his personal aircraft unless it was to attend a court hearing. Lewis is limited to traveling between New York, Florida and Georgia, where he owns property.
Prosecutors have said Lewis gleaned inside information about four companies in which he had invested through his hedge fund and tipped friends and associates between 2019 and 2021.
The companies, according to prosecutors, included Mirati Therapeutics and BCTG Acquisition Corp, a blank check company that his hedge fund founded and took Tango Therapeutics public in a merger in 2021.
Lewis hid the size of his holdings in Mirati by investing through a trust and a shell company registered in the name of his granddaughter and an employee, according to prosecutors.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams has called the actions taken by Lewis “classic corporate corruption.”
