Joe Lewis, Premier League team owner, charged with insider trading

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Joe Lewis, the owner of the Tottenham Hotspur soccer club in England, has been indicted on insider trading charges in the United States.

Lewis, whose net worth is estimated at over $6 billion, is said to have slipped confidential business information to others, including his romantic partners and private pilots.

Manhattan-based U.S. attorney Damian Williams announced the case in a Twitter video, saying that Lewis exploited his entrée to various corporations to reap tips that he slipped to people in his own inner circle, who deployed the knowledge to make stock trades and millions of dollars.

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ENIC International Limited owner Joe Lewis. (Catherine Ivill/AMA/Corbis via Getty Images)

"As we allege, he used insider information as a way to compensate his employees and shower gifts on his friends and lovers," Williams said. "It’s cheating, and it’s against the law.

"Laws that apply to everyone, no matter who you are. That’s why Joe Lewis has been indicted and will face justice here in the Southern District of New York."

Lewis reportedly faces 16 counts of securities fraud and three counts of conspiracy.

An attorney for the 86-year-old Lewis, David M. Zornow, said that his client is innocent.

General view of a corner flag prior to the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and AFC Bournemouth at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 15, 2023 in London. (Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)

Zornow said the "government has made an egregious error in judgment in charging Mr. Lewis, an 86-year-old man of impeccable integrity and prodigious accomplishment. Mr. Lewis