Tottenham Hotspur: Joe Lewis pleads not guilty after being accused of insider trading while Spurs owner
Joe Lewis has been indicted for allegedly orchestrating «brazen» insider trading scheme; US Attorney: «We allege he used insider information to compensate his employees or to shower gifts on his friends and lovers»; Lewis to defend charges «vigorously»
Wednesday 26 July 2023 22:56, UK
Joe Lewis, whose family trust owns Tottenham Hotspur, has pleaded not guilty in New York after being indicted for orchestrating a «brazen» insider trading scheme.
In a video posted on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Damian Williams said: «Today I'm announcing that my office, the southern district of New York has indicted Joe Lewis, the British billionaire, for orchestrating a brazen insider trading scheme.
»We allege that for years Joe Lewis abused access to corporate board rooms and repeatedly provided inside information to his romantic partners, his personal assistants, his pilots and his friends.
«Those folks then traded on that inside information and made millions of dollars on the stock market. Thanks to Lewis those bets were a sure thing.
»None of this was necessary. Joe Lewis is a wealthy man, but as we allege he used insider information to compensate his employees, or to shower gifts on his friends and lovers.
«That's classic corporate corruption. It's cheating and it's against the law.»
Lewis entered his not guilty plea on Wednesday before magistrate judge Valerie Figueredo in Manhattan.
He ceased to be a «person with significant control» of Tottenham last year after the club said there had been a «reorganisation of the Lewis Family Trusts».
However, this took place after his alleged offences were committed.
The indictment also accuses him of «false disclosure of his ownership» and using shell companies and trusts
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