US charges British billionaire Joe Lewis with insider trading

NEW YORK : Joe Lewis, the British billionaire and owner of the Tottenham Hotspur soccer team, has been charged in New York for orchestrating what a federal prosecutor called a brazen insider trading scheme.

Prosecutors accused Lewis of passing on inside information from companies in which he invested to friends, personal assistants, private pilots and romantic partners.

Lewis was charged in a 19-count indictment with 16 counts of securities fraud and three counts of conspiracy.

“None of this was necessary," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a video on the X social media platform, formerly Twitter. "Joe Lewis is a wealthy man. But as we allege he used inside information as a way to compensate his employees or shower gifts on his friends and lovers. That's classic corporate corruption. It's cheating. And it's against the law."

Lewis, who founded the investment firm Tavistock Group, could not immediately be reached for comment.