Joe Lewis, the British billionaire, and owner of Tottenham Hotspur, has been charged with insider trading by the Department of Justice. The allegations suggest that Lewis used his positions of power to repeatedly share confidential corporate information with various associates, including “romantic partners,” enabling them to make substantial profits through illicit stock trades.
Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, released a video statement on Tuesday, outlining the indictment that accuses Lewis of orchestrating a brazen insider trading scheme by providing insider information to personal assistants, private pilots, friends, and others.
The charges against Lewis encompass more than a dozen counts, including securities fraud, stemming from an eight-year period during which he is alleged to have engaged in insider trading.
The indictment claims that Lewis divulged sensitive information about companies in which his investment firm, Tavistock Group, had a vested interest. Notable companies involved include Solid Biosciences, Australian Agricultural Co., and Mirati Therapeutics, as reported by Bloomberg.
Tavistock Group, Lewis’s investment firm, has not yet responded to requests for comment regarding the charges and allegations. The case has attracted significant attention due to Lewis’s prominence as a billionaire businessman and his ownership of the renowned English football club, Tottenham Hotspur.