You know the old adage- “behind every great fortune is a great crime.” A lot, if not most, billionaires have financial skeletons in the closet and Tottenham Hotspur Football Club majority owner Joe Lewis, 86, is no different. His life story is certainly one of “corporate crime” or so-called “white-collar crime.”
This past July, Lewis was charged with providing insider information, in regards to his portfolio of companies, to coworkers, business partners, friends, and even people he was dating, for the purpose of helping to enrich them. Joe Lewis publicly came clean on this today, admitting wrong-doing while his lawyers entered a plea of guilty.
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“I am so embarrassed and I apologize to the court for my conduct,” Lewis said to U.S. District Judge Jessica Clarke. Lewis pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and two counts of securities fraud.
The plea bargain, arranged with the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan., includes a right to appeal, should he be sentenced to prison time, his legal team stated. Lewis has been charged by U.S. federal prosecutors with 16 counts of securities fraud and three counts of conspiracy.
The London born businessman is head of ENIC, which is owned by his family trust. ENIC, which is a subsidiary of Tavistock Group (a private equity firm Lewis founded, with more than 200 assets across 13 countries), has owned Tottenham since 2001.
ENIC, which is owned by Lewis’ family trust, is a subsidiary company of the Tavistock Group.
While Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy makes a majority of the football decisions at THFC, Lewis is understood to have a very significant role with the club. He definitely has major influence over Levy, and the club itself.
In their latest valuation, Forbes estimates THFC to be worth £2.3 billion ($2.8bn).
According to info published in the Sunday Times Rich List, just last year, Lewis has a net worth of £5.096 billion, an increase of £811 million from 2022. Joe Lewis, who began his life as the son of a London pub owner, will be sentenced for his crimes on March 28.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now, while writing for the International Baseball Writers Association of America. You can follow the website on Twitter.