Lewis was fined $5m and given three years probation by New York judge over ‘brazen’ insider trading scheme
Joe Lewis, the British billionaire and former owner of Tottenham Hotspur FC, is to be pardoned by Donald Trump over a 2024 conviction for his part in a “brazen” insider trading scheme.
Lewis, 88, was fined $5m (£3.8m) and given three years probation by a New York judge last year but was spared jail time after pleading guilty to involvement in a plan that prosecutors said was designed to enrich his friends, lovers and employees.
Lawyers for the east London-born investor initially accused prosecutors of making an “egregious” mistake by charging him with multiple counts of securities fraud and conspiracy.
But Lewis, who also owns the largest stake in one of the UK’s biggest operators of pubs, bars and restaurants, Mitchells & Butlers, later changed his plea to guilty after prosecutors agreed to a non-custodial sentence.
