Former Tottenham owner Joe Lewis wrapped for insider trading but avoids jail sentence

Former Tottenham owner Joe Lewis has avoided a prison sentence despite being found guilty of insider trading.

The billionaire, whose family holds the majority stake in Tottenham, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and two counts of securities fraud in January in the United States.

Lewis was accused of sharing confidential trading information with his private pilots and a girlfriend, in what prosecutors labelled as a 'brazen insider trading scheme'. While most insider trading cases result in jail time, Lewis, who is believed to have a personal fortune exceeding £5.8 billion, was spared incarceration at a New York hearing on Thursday.

US District Judge Jessica Clarke admitted it was challenging to let Lewis off without a prison sentence, considering the need to deter others from committing similar offences. However, she noted that his personal circumstances warranted leniency. Consequently, Lewis received a sentence of three years' probation and a fine of £3.96 million.

His lawyer, David Zornow, successfully argued that a prison term would be 'catastrophic' for Lewis due to his age and health condition. Speaking before the sentencing, he told the judge: «You have before you a frail 87-year-old man with significant health challenges whose condition has only deteriorated since the indictment,» reports the Express.

Zornow further added: «I would suggest that the true measure of this man is the eight decades of life he lived before these unfortunate events.» According to the charges, a Mirati Therapeutics board member tipped off Lewis about confidential upbeat clinical trial results set to be announced. Before the news hit the public, Lewis handed his private pilots $500,000 (£396,005) each to