Joe Lewis, the British billionaire and owner of Tottenham Hotspur soccer club, admitted in a New York court Wednesday to giving his girlfriend and pilots illegal stock tips — as part of a plea deal that’ll see his company cough up $50 million.
The 86-year-old investment magnate — whom a spokesman said was “deeply sorry” and “embarrassed” — pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to securities fraud and conspiracy charges six months after he was accused of hooking up his girlfriend and two private pilots with insider information they used to make millions playing the stock market.
Lewis, whose family trust owns a majority stake in the London-based Premier League club, had faced the prospect of decades behind bars on more than a dozen charges.
But prosecutors will ask instead for him to serve between 1 1/2 -to- two years in prison when he’s sentenced in March, said Nicholas Biase, lead spokesman for the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
Lewis’ company Broad Bay Ltd — which he allegedly used to hide his ownership in a biotech company called Mirai Therapeutics recently valued at $4.8 billion — pleaded guilty to securities fraud as well and will pay a $50 million penalty as part of the deal hashed out with the feds.
US Attorney Damian Williams’ office had charged Lewis with divulging inside stock information to his ex-girlfriend Carolyn Carter — Miss US Virgin Islands 2016 — and pilots Bryan Waugh and Patrick O’Connor between 2019 and 2021.
Waugh and O’Connor were charged as well, and their cases are still pending.
Lewis, who made his fortune after founding the investment firm Tavistock Group, has not spent a night in federal custody after being charged.
The Bahamas-based octogenarian was allowed to walk free in July after posting a $300 million bond secured by his $250 million yacht — called “AVIVA” — and his personal plane.
Yet, his “guilty pleas once again confirm — as I said in announcing the charges against Joseph Lewis just six months ago — the law applies to everyone, no matter who you are or how much wealth you have,” Williams said in a statement.
US District Judge Jessica G.L. Clarke is set to make the final call on whether Lewis will do any prison time when he’s sentenced on March 28.
His attorney is likely to ask for some form of leniency in light of Lewis’ age and his admission of guilt.
“Today, Joe Lewis acknowledged his conduct in connection with a number of stock trades by individuals close to him,” Lewis’ spokesman, Mark Herr, told The Post.
“Mr. Lewis did not engage in improper trading in his own accounts. His conduct should be viewed in the context of Mr. Lewis’ long life of accomplishment and integrity,” Herr said.
“Soon to be 87, Mr. Lewis is deeply sorry, embarrassed, and apologizes to the court, his family, and all those who have come to rely on him,” the spokesman added.